2020
PREPARING YOUR PARACHUTE
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS IN EDUCATION
ESPORTS
THE NEW ERA OF PROJECT SCHEDULING
THE DIGITAL FUTURE
IT’S NOT ABOUT GROWTH, IT’S ABOUT EFFICIENCY
A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO SELF-PERFORMING WORK
A Rider Levett Bucknall Publication
The Past, Present, and Future of Government Funded Projects’ Cost Management in China
42
It’s Not About Growth, It’s About Efficiency
46
Early Contractor Involvement in a Busy Market
48
Strategic Procurement How to Refine Your RFP Process to Position Your Team for Exceptional Outcomes
52
The Value of 5D BIM For Entire Supply Chain
54
The Digital Future How Digital is Transforming the Construction Industry
58
A Survival Guide to Self-Performing Work
62
Key Factors for Adopting Prefabrication in Hong Kong
64
Convention Meets Invention Change, Technology, and the AEC Industries
69
Preparing Your Parachute The Electoral, Economic, and Epidemic Implications for the AEC Industries
4
Climate Change Emergency 8
Project Governance From Assurance to Project Delivery
12
Reaching New Heights In Education The Move to Vertical High Schools
16
In With The Old The Impact of Heritage Conservation on Building Development in Stellenbosch, South Africa
20
Accommodating Design Strategic Hotel Renovations
23
Adoption of the Swiss Challenge A Case Study from the QS Perspective
26
To Collaborate or Cooperate? But is That the Question?
30
Esports A Game Changer for Sporting and Entertainment Venues
34
The New Era of Project Scheduling The Practice, the Possible, and the Pitfalls
38
6412 42Project Governance From Assurance to Project Delivery
The Past, Present, and Future of Government Funded Projects’ Cost Management in China
Key Factors for Adopting Prefabrication in Hong Kong
CONTENTS
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 1
The year of 2020 represents the start of a new decade.
Looking back at the past ten years, the building
industry has gone through huge changes under the
impact of new technology and market conditions. To
make sound decisions in this fast-changing world, it’s
imperative for us to know what’s happening, and make
an educated guess of what will be next.
For this purpose, I’m delighted to introduce Rider
Levett Bucknall’s annual magazine, Perspective, a
collection of our global experts’ observation of the
industry. In this issue, you will find many useful insights
such as the impact of heritage conservation on building
development, how to optimize property for consumer
demands, lessons learned, etc. You can also find RLB
experts’ reflection on global trends based on their
project experiences at the forefront, covering various
sectors and new technology like prefabrication and
BIM.
At RLB, the fact that everyone is keen to learn new
knowledge and skills underpins our competitiveness.
We believe in the power of communication and
cooperation with different parties in the industry.
The fresh perspective generated always serves as
momentum that pushes the whole industry forward.
Changes will never stop, but RLB’s commitment to
quality and best service will remain constant. I hope
you enjoy reading the 2020 Perspective Magazine, and
can catch the wave of our time to make full use of the
opportunities.
WELCOME
Perspectiveis the global magazine of Rider Levett Bucknall
InquiriesCathy Sewell [email protected]
DesignerTaryn Harbert [email protected]
With a network that covers the globe and a heritage spanning over two centuries, Rider Levett Bucknall is a leading independent organization in cost management and quantity surveying, project management and advisory services. Our innovative thinking, global reach, and flawless execution push the boundaries, taking ambitious projects from an idea to reality.
PER SPECTIVE
KENNETH KWAN RLB GLOBAL CHAIRMAN
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CONTRIBUTORS
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11.
7.
5.
3.
6.
2.
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12.
4.
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14.
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16.
13.
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15.
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18.
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1. Julian Anderson President, North America Global Board Director [email protected]
7. Silas Loh Joint Managing Partner, Singapore [email protected]
13. Andy Stamps National Head of Infrastructure, United Kingdom [email protected]
2. Ann Bentley Global Board Director, United Kingdom [email protected]
8. Tay Wan Ding Research Manager, Singapore [email protected]
14. Josh Tattley Associate Director, New Zealand [email protected]
3. Christopher Leong Partner, Singapore [email protected]
9. Mark Weaver Commercial & Technical Director, United Kingdom [email protected]
15. Scott Sumners Senior Vice President, North America [email protected]
4. Andrew Suttie Managing Director, Australia [email protected]
10. Oliver Nichols Director, Australia [email protected]
16. Matt Sharp Chief Digital Officer, United Kingdom [email protected]
5. Lichelle Neethling Director, South Africa [email protected]
11. John Armstrong Associate, North America [email protected]
17. Josh Marks Resident Manager, North America [email protected]
6. Paul Brussow Executive Vice President, North America [email protected]
12. Wang Weiqing Director, North Asia [email protected]
18. Tiffany Chan Director, North Asia [email protected]
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 3
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 4
PREPARING YOUR PARACHUTE
Julian AndersonPresident, North AmericaGlobal Board Director
The Electoral, Economic, and Epidemic Implications for the AEC Industries
W ith the presidential race heading (at last!)
into the final stretch, the conversation about
how the outcome of the election will affect the
construction industry was cut short by the COVID-19
virus hitting the United States. The arrival of the
pandemic eclipsed the platforms that the candidates
had carefully crafted. While the parties and pols differ
on policies and primacies, a common denominator
does exist: economic uncertainty.
Because of COVID-19, the recession that we had been
expecting is here now. Its length and depth is, frankly,
unknowable. The advent of coronavirus erased years
of robust performance in the stock markets, triggered
the largest wave of unemployment claims in history,
and, as mentioned, unleashed a recession. While
economic warning signs were already evident—the
2019 federal budget deficit totaled $984 billion, and
(pre-COVID) the Treasury Department estimated it
will hit $1.1 trillion in 2020—the pandemic is creating a
crisis of unprecedented scale and complexity.
Without question, there will be a massive increase
in the national debt. While interest rates are now
at historically low levels, making it a good time to
borrow, we must be aware that when those loans
come due, the repaid expansion of debt may lead to
inflation problems in the medium term. And despite
enormous federal stimulus/relief programs, there will
be significant and ongoing impacts to the economy
for the near term. As a result, it’s reasonable to expect
some construction jobs will be postponed and others
cancelled; claims for delays will increase accordingly.
Compounded by the coronavirus, the election is
assuming an even heightened importance. Rather
than rely on the pundits or a crystal ball, let’s turn to
some historical data to provide some perspective on
the construction industry. Compiled by the American
Institute of Architects, the Architecture Billings Index
(ABI) is an economic indicator for nonresidential
construction activity, with a lead time of approximately
nine to 12 months. Tracked from Q1 2015 through Q4
2019, the average ABI is 51.7; ratings of 50 or more
indicates an increase in billings, and is considered
positive. But a more granular look reveals some
contrary undercurrents.
During the last election year, 2016, the ABI dropped
to its lowest value for this five-year period; in the third
quarter—just as the presidential contest was coming
to a head—it posted a rather dismal 48.4. In 2019,
with the current campaign beginning to take shape,
the first three quarters reflect a negative trend, with
scores of 47.8, 49.1, and 49.7. Even taking into account
a fourth quarter rebound, when the ABI reached 52.5,
the yearly average, at 49.7, was the first since 2015 not
to top 50.
Another canary in the coal mine is the biannual RLB
Crane Index. By measuring construction activity
in metropolitan markets by counting the number
of tower cranes, we take a snapshot of the local
construction economy. In 2015 (the first year of the
Crane Index) the national total was 439 cranes; in
2019, 423 cranes appeared on the skylines.
As with the ABI, this consistency has an important
subtext. The cities surveyed are at different points
in the construction cycle: some are ascendant, some
peaking, and others are on the downslope. Currently,
the majority of locations included in the Crane Index
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 4
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are clustered near or at the top of the curve, meaning
they will begin to enter a phase of decline in the
coming years.
Taken together, these benchmark statistics give a fact-
based context to a comparative summary of where
moderates, progressives, and protectionists stand—
even without the virus—on issues of importance to the
construction industry:
THE INCUMBENT PLATFORM:
� Trade. Characterized by some as pugilistic, the
administration’s in your face approach to trade
has exasperated producers and fabricators of
construction materials—not to mention project
managers and cost consultants.
� Infrastructure. States and municipalities have
largely been left to their own devices for planning
and funding of the much-needed improvements
to roads, bridges, and transit systems, with mixed
results.
� Environment. Under the mantle of being “business-
friendly”, the administration has rolled back
emissions standards for air and water, opened
formerly protected land to industrial use, and
attempted to cast doubt on the reality of climate
change.
� Labor. The Department of Labor has proposed
high-quality apprenticeship programs—but in its
current state, this plan excludes the construction
industry.
� Housing. A proposal from the Department of
Housing and Urban Development redefines the way
local jurisdictions would be required to promote
fair housing in order to receive federal funding.
� Healthcare. Repealing Obamacare is the goal, but
there’s no plan being developed to replace it.
THE PROGRESSIVE PLATFORM:
� Trade. “People before profits” is the clarion call of
the progressive candidates, who seek to replace
what they see as corporate sweetheart deals with
a trade policy that benefits American workers (and
trade unions) and creates living-wage jobs.
� Infrastructure. Escalating the usual infrastructure
agenda beyond roads and bridges, a number of
candidates proposed a nation-wide expansion
of the fiber-optic network that enables internet
access.
� Environment. Progressive candidates are often
vocal proponents of the Green New Deal. Goals
include achieving net zero greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030, transforming the domestic
energy system away from fossil fuel and into
efficient, sustainable sources and, in the process,
create jobs.
� Housing. While most candidates focus on
subsidy programs for housing, some target
the construction of affordable housing stock. If
enacted, the 2018 proposed American Housing
and Economic Mobility Act would set aside $500
billion over the next decade to build, preserve, and
rehab units that will be affordable to lower-income
families.
� Healthcare. Medicare for all is the progressive
mantra.
THE MODERATE PLATFORM:
� Trade. Candidates are looking to temper the
rhetoric of recent times and return to pre-2016
“normalcy” by restoring America’s relationship with
the international community through diplomacy
and mutually beneficial multi-country trade
agreements.
� Infrastructure. Through a mix of rolling back tax
cuts, closing loopholes, and raising corporate taxes,
candidates seek to rebuild federal funding for the
repair of essential transportation arteries.
� Environment. Recommitting the country to
the Paris Accord is seen as a safe first step to
reestablishing the climate conversation; some
candidates have indicated legislation of green
buildings is a priority.
� Housing. Candidates espouse a holistic, social
solution to affordable housing. The grassroots
government program starts with helping people
achieve economic parity and gradually transforms
them from renters to homeowners.
� Healthcare. Preserving—with modifications—the
Obamacare program is the moderates’ path
forward.
A passage from our January 2016 Quarterly Cost
Report seems as relevant now—if not more so—as it
did four year ago. “On the horizon is the shadow of
the presidential election cycle which typically induces
nervousness in investors and negatively impacts
construction activity as November draws closer.
Rider Levett Bucknall expects this cycle to generate
somewhat more nervousness as the candidates seem
to have focused more on addressing the electorate’s
frustration than on producing economic policy.”
While construction may be a lagging economic
indicator, the time to size up the potential
consequences of the election and the pandemic—to
pack your parachute, if you will—to the industry is now.
Preparing for a variety of outcomes in advance will
help your business land securely and be positioned for
the future, regardless of the political scenario.
Julian AndersonPresident. North America
Global Board Director
P
Creating a vibrant intersection of global and local knowledge
RLB.com
A super modern, innovative building in Sandton, Johannesburg, stands proud as the new global headquarters of Sasol,
an international integrated chemical and energy company. The commercial building comprises 67,000m2 of rentable
area and is home to 2,500 of the company’s employees. The building is 47 metres tall, with 7 parking floors, a ground
floor and 10 office floors. Environmentally sustainable practices such as water recycling and LED lighting gave rise to
the 5-Star Green Star rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa.
RLB’s involvement on this project included full scope quantity surveying services, from inception to project close-out.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 8
CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCY
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 9
CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCYAnn Bentley
Global Board Member, United Kingdom
Over the course of my career,
fatalities on construction sites
in the UK have fallen by over 70%,
from a staggering 520 per year, to
a still unacceptable 147, and in the
same period we have gone from an
environment where smoking was
common place in the office, to it now
being banned in all public places.
As I look around the RLB Global
Practice, with forest fires in Australia,
heat related deaths in the USA,
flooding in the UK and air quality
issues in China, it feels to me that we
are now at the same pivotal point
with climate change as we reached
with Health and Safety in the 1970s
and smoking in the 2000s. The
evidence of climate change is there
for everyone to see; governments
are beginning to react and there is
widespread demand for action from
ordinary people. But just like Health
& Safety and smoking, the speed
of acceptance or change is not fast
enough for many and is certainly not
consistent around the world.
At RLB UK we have recognised the
Environmental and Climate Change
Emergency and we have publicly
pledged our support to do everything
we can to stop and reverse this trend.
To make this tangible within our
business, at the beginning of this year
we set ourselves the target to reach
a net zero carbon position by 2025.
Our commitment to sustainability is
nothing new – we have had a carbon
management plan in place since
2009 that is integral to our business -
but this takes it to another level.
Individual actions are great, but
collective actions are better and so
we are extending this commitment
to become a core component of
our service delivery for clients.
We are providing the tools and
the support for our surveyors and
project managers to challenge the
environmental impact of every
project we are involved in, from
the outset, creating a ‘natural
value’ model which sits alongside
the ‘financial value’ model. We are
training every person in our UK
business to be carbon aware and
for our practitioners to become as
familiar with carbon and sustainability
modelling tools as they currently
are with Excel spreadsheets.
Sustainability will be an unbroken
thread throughout the business.
We know we are not the only ones
making significant changes. Major
contractors are also publicly setting
targets to be waste free and carbon
free by 2025 and sub-contractors
at all tiers in the supply chain are
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 10
implementing measures to reduce their carbon
footprint, including trialling electric fleets, paper
only packaging and biomass boilers for waste.
What is heartening is that many of these initiatives
are not being driven by the need to adhere to
government mandates but by organisations striving
for efficiencies, by individuals personally feeling
they want to make a change and by understanding
that their part in the process can have an impact.
We are seeing changes in behaviours in even the
most financially driven in our industry, as investors
and lenders are including sustainability as a key
element in their valuation of global real estate
assets.
That said, there is no doubt that Governments are
best placed to take a lead on this – and a catalyst
for action in the UK was the Government’s decision
to become the first major economy in the world
to pass laws to end its contribution to global
warming, requiring the UK to bring all greenhouse
gas emissions to net zero by 2050, compared with
the previous target of at least 80% reduction from
1990 levels. As part of this commitment, the Clean
Growth Grand Challenge was brought forward by
20 years – with now only 10 years remaining to
meet the 2030 target “to at least halve the energy
usage of new buildings”.
With infrastructure and the built environment
accounting for 40% of the UK’s total carbon
footprint, this sense of responsibility is something
that has brought me, both personally and
professionally, some feelings of optimism.
We also know that at least 80% of our
infrastructure – be that within housing, healthcare,
education, transport, power or commercial - which
will exist in 2050, has already been built and so the
even bigger challenge will be the decarbonisation
of existing buildings.
Of course, this drive to make a difference creates
environmental value in the longer term but it has
a short-term financial cost. Until very recently
sustainable development was seen by most clients
as a ‘nice to have’, however, over the last 12 months
we have seen sustainability and environmental
impact becoming in-built parts of the design,
procurement and construction processes – just as
happened with Health & Safety 40 years ago.
As procurement advisors, we have a critical part
to play in this – by ensuring that holistic value,
not simple price – is the basis for procurement
decisions. We are doing this by developing and
implementing value assessment tools and models
and working with clients to understand the nuances
of the value drivers on their specific projects and
programmes.
As we look to this new decade, we need to
continue to face up to this challenge ahead.
Although we are taking steps in the right direction,
we need to make these steps into leaps and gain
momentum and pace to ensure that we have a
future at all.
Ann BentleyGlobal Board Director, United Kingdom
P
Building for the future
RLB.com
Raffles City Chongqing is situated at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, Chongqing’s historically
significant gateway. Designed by Moshe Safdie, the most striking feature of this development is ‘The Crystal’, a
300m-long horizontal skyscraper linking six of Raffles City Chongqing’s eight skyscrapers. From a distance, the
project’s curved facades call to mind a fleet of ancient Chinese ships. The vibrant complex accommodates luxury
residence, shopping mall, office towers, serviced residence and hotel. It also serves as a new transportation hub for the
city, linking directly to metro, bus and ferry terminals.
RLB provided cost management and quantity surveying services to this stunning skyscraper development.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 12
PROJECT GOVERNANCE:From assurance to project delivery
Christopher LeongPartner, Singapore
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Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 13
A ll projects are embedded within an
organisational context. The fundamental
view of governance resides in organisations,
setting the boundaries for management action
to achieve organisational goals. This immediately
offers an opportunity to address and examine the
coexistence of projects and project management
within the corporate governance framework, which
is best seen through the lens of what has come
to be termed – “project governance”. Simply put,
corporate governance sets the boundaries for
project governance, and the governance of projects
and project management are best appreciated as
subsets of this. Implementation of governance in
projects, whether defined in terms of value systems,
policies, processes, roles and/or responsibilities,
sets the tone for project performance by providing
a framework for ethical decision-making and
managerial action. These in turn, should be based
on transparency, accountability and clearly defined
roles for all project participants, regardless of
their respective representations. Taken together,
a congruence between project governance and
project management emerges, beyond what may
first appear as just some similarity in terms of their
separate objectives.
Much of what project governance attempts to
provide or demand permeates the project
scenario through an application of its principles
to projects and project management. In addition,
it enables and assists in ensuring consistency and
predictability for the delivery of projects. Arguably,
these same tenets of achievement resonate closely
with what project management aims for in all
projects.
The process of continuous review and realignment
through the periodic measurement of achievements
against targets is a feature that is at the heart
of project management methodology. The
measure we pursue in project delivery can only
be supported if a structured responsibility and
authority framework exists. This ensures the
requisite accountability for any given aspect
of a project, and fundamentally is the project
governance agenda.
From a project governance standpoint, the
central feature of project management as single-
point responsibility must move towards single-
point accountability. The relationship between
responsibility and accountability is one of the key
principles of governance. In one sense, the notion
of project governance presents the necessary
framework to successfully manage projects as
well as to measure that degree of success and/or
achievement.
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 13
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In a broader sense, project governance and
project management share objectives that are
somewhat aligned. This convergence of objectives
is inevitable. The foundation of all project decision-
making is predicated on project systems and
project controls that are clear and structured, and
more importantly, realistically achievable.
Project management thrives on processes and
methodologies that provide basis, clarity and
means of tracking progress and achievement of set
goals and targets. The ability to adjust to changing
project conditions and to re-establish adherence
to timelines and objectives is a constant in the
dynamic project environment.
The close alignment that exists does, however,
present some tension when project delivery is
pursued from a practice standpoint. What supports
effective and efficient project management can in
turn pose as obstruction and an obstacle to the
smooth delivery of projects in practice. Project
performance is invariably about project delivery,
undertaken to meet time, cost, quality, and
scope deliverables. The demand for documented
decision-making, which is the essence of providing
and establishing assurance in governance, is further
stretched when it deals with project reviews and
audits. This immediately poses an underlying threat
of overly extending deliberations and stifling the
ability to make conscious and timely decisions
that are central to proactive project management.
Major projects, due to their heavy capital outlay
and complexity, will constantly attract stringent
demands for governance. These projects will need
to rise to the challenge of internal and/or external
audits, irrespective of whether they do, in fact,
arise. This is even more critical if they are public
development schemes funded through taxpayers’
contributions, There may be a tendency and desire
to support and justify every project deliberation in
great detail. The procurement and financial aspects
of the project often pose a process and protocols-
led enquiry that could lead to the perception
of managing a project on paper as opposed to
managing the physical project delivery. An inherent
hesitancy and reluctance to act can very quickly
lead to an inability to act, whether structurally or
behaviourally, and this can only be detrimental to a
project.
Project audits also enjoy the benefit of hindsight.
The benefit of hindsight in challenging decisions
draws an added bias that oversimplifies project
situations under investigation. The extent of
sufficient information available at the time of a
project decision can hardly be revisited simply in
its incident and real-time framework. Many audit
investigations suffer due to inability to replicate the
actual context in which decisions were made. This
occurs in urgent scenarios due to the very dynamic
nature of projects and the rigorous and fast-paced
timelines they operate under.
This inherent inability of hindsight to closely
recreate decision-making scenarios challenges
the documentation detail and demands that
are often the elements best able to assist and
withstand scrutiny at the highest level. Proper
systems, processes and protocols are crucial
in such instances of challenge and justification.
A solid project management framework, both
structurally and procedurally, is unmistakably the
logical response. From this perspective, project
management safeguards the project governance
structure, which in turn dictates the level and
standard that project delivery should operate at.
In conclusion, project governance is a necessity for
successful project delivery. It poses an unavoidable
demand where the logical response must be one
of embracing and rising to the challenge. The
broader view ought to prevail – that of finding
a balance between what project governance
demands and what project management entails.
The convergence in focus needs to be embraced.
An ability to stand up to scrutiny lends legitimacy
and validity to project deliverables. It also affords
a level of confirmation and confidence that project
management is as effective as it can be on any
project.
Christopher LeongPartner, Singapore
P
Supporting the needs of a growing community
RLB.com
Providence Park is home to the Portland Timbers soccer team and lives right in the heart of downtown Portland.
With the recent expansion, more fans will be able to fit in the stadium for each game. This expansion will have a
significant effect on the Portland sports community, as the Timbers have sold out every game in their MLS history.
RLB provided cost estimating services for the famous Providence Park Stadium, home to the Portland Timbers;
helping to begin a new era for Portland Timbers fans and for the entire neighborhood near the stadium.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 16 Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 16
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A t RLB in Adelaide we have just completed full
cost advisory services on a new ‘world-class’
CBD vertical secondary school with an educational
focus on wellness and STEM (Sciences, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics). The school is
designed to accommodate 1,250 students offering
contemporary interdisciplinary teaching and
learning in interactive settings.
This state-of-the-art designed school will promote
individualised learning, creating settings for
innovative teaching, incorporating new technology,
environmental sustainability, collaboration and
exploration of the surrounding environment.
Designed by Cox Architecture in partnership with
Design Inc, the Adelaide Botanic High School
delivers an innovative and flexible space to
encapsulate the best in contemporary learning
pedagogy. The ageing University of South
Australia Reid Building was repurposed, providing
six learning levels plus a basement hosting music,
drama practice spaces and secure parking for 170
bicycles. The refurbished building is linked by a
glass atrium to a brand new seven-storey building,
also with a basement and rooftop terrace. Five
rooms cantilever from the two buildings into the
atrium overlooking the stunning surrounds of the
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide Zoo, parklands
and the vibrant university precinct. The city itself
will also be an immersive learning environment for
this school.
The purpose-built learning environment enables
the building architecture to enhance the student
learning experience. Once hidden systems and
electrical engineering mechanisms within the Reid
Building have been exposed, and the new building
design has mirrored the existing, it is difficult to
determine old from new. Students are exposed
to the application of engineering principles and
technology to building design, construction and
operation. Learning from the built form will deliver
intuitive, investigative, environmentally aware
students who will shape our future communities.
BEST IN CLASSWe were asked to provide full cost management
services. We began working closely with the
Department for Education and the Department of
Planning, Transport and Infrastructure in early 2015
preparing early cost models for building options
based on space planning schemes.
With the Adelaide Botanic High School being the
first true vertical school in South Australia, we were
able to benchmark similar projects from our Global
Cost Database, enabling our Cost Planners to
provide relevant cost data from precedent projects.
As the Department for Education determined
projected student needs, we were asked to prepare
cost options for 1,000, 1,250, 1,500 and 2,000
student capacities to determine the relative cost
benefit and value proposition to increase capacity.
A lot more than ‘Chalk & Talk’
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS IN EDUCATION
Andrew SuttieManaging Director, Australia
THE MOVE TO VERTICAL HIGH SCHOOLS
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 18
We were also involved in developing cost-efficient,
high-performance design elements such as: energy
efficient wall façade systems, modular atrium
glazing systems, efficient structural solutions
(particularly the sports gym which supports an
outdoor learning terrace), and external ‘pop-out’
learning pods.
All internal design elements were designed with
flexibility and robustness to minimise ongoing
maintenance and achieve outcome alignment with
our fully integrated team.
This project success could not have been achieved
without our high performance, collaborative project
team across all disciplines.
TOP MARKSOur key project challenges included:
� Understanding the existing building conditions
and the adaptive reuse implications. These
included hazardous material removal,
earthquake and seismic upgrades, building
code compliance upgrades, façade removal and
reinstatement, external link bridge connections
and full building engineering services upgrades
� With the step change in educational pedagogy,
challenges occurred when benchmarking
the investigation of the functional fit-out
requirements, such as open plan teaching
environments which also have the ability to
contain teaching spaces when required with
operable walls, and the inclusion of the latest
ICT/AV teaching requirements
� Procurement by Early Contractor Involvement
(ECI) comprising of two Tier 1 Contractors in
competition during the Design Phase, with
both providing simultaneous program, cost and
constructability advice (a relatively untested
innovative procurement strategy)
� Providing a robust and independent cost
plan throughout the project planning, design
and documentation phases, often involved
conflicting advice from the ECI Contractors
� Undertaking multiple value engineering sessions
to align to the Value Management Roadmap
to ensure not only budget compliance, but
to achieve maximum value for money, whilst
considering the longevity of building materials
and engineering solutions
� Detailed tender assessments to ensure
appropriate conversion into a Total Fixed Price
(TFP) Design and Construct (D&C) Contract and
successful novation of the design team
� Undertaking cost analysis studies with varying
construction methodologies to safely construct
a new building adjacent to an existing occupied
University Building (including an operating
animal house at basement level). This involved
analysing several construction staging methods,
external acoustic treatment options, and flexible
structural building connections
TECHNOLOGY DRIVENOur in-house technology, ROSS 5D enabled our
Cost Planners to prepare accurate estimates, cost
plans and models from diverse information sources
including BIM Models, 2D and 3D CAD drawings,
hand drawn illustrations, schedules and other
project documentation. Our software enabled
flexibility in presentation and analysis of cost
models allowing for a range of different estimate
breakdowns, by utilising either: elements, trades,
floor by floor or building components, separate
buildings and the project phases.
Site infrastructure is often an area that is not
dealt with adequately by cost consultants, with
general allowances being allocated in early cost
plans. Infrastructure is a specialist division within
RLB that is staffed with Engineers and specialist
Civil Estimators who complement our Quantity
Surveying personnel. We were able to utilise their
expertise for the infrastructure component.
We also drew from the expertise of our in-house
Engineering Services Cost Managers to provide
an independent assessment, and benchmark the
engineering services estimates. We provided a full
review of the site infrastructure costs, including
stormwater, gas, sewer, electrical, etc.
Several façade scope verification and value
management sessions were undertaken with
proactive industry feedback to ensure budget
compliance, whilst maintaining the architectural
vision for the school.
Our team at RLB in Adelaide were key members
in assisting the Department for Education in
realising the construction of two additional levels
to accommodate the increased anticipated student
population of 1,250.
IN IT TO WIN IT
The project commenced with an Early Contractor
Involvement (ECI) phase, with the intent to convert
into a Total Fixed Price (TFP) Design and Construct
method of procurement.
We reviewed and benchmarked functional areas
to ensure the proposed scheme was efficient,
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 19
in addition to reviewing project risks and
incorporating appropriate contingencies. Following
a robust Project Risk Review, establishing the
appropriate project contingencies was critical. Due
consideration was required for all the project’s
varying risk factors including; working adjacent
to an occupied building, potential for in-ground
indigenous archaeological artefacts, hazardous
material removal, challenging structural building
link connections etc. Applying the appropriate
contingency levels was a key challenge to ensure
the building fabric and functionality was ultimately
not compromised.
We facilitated multiple value management sessions,
including the ECI partners, to ensure best value
was achieved for the Department of Planning,
Transport and Infrastructure and the Department
for Education.
For an ECI/TFP Procurement Model the dynamics
are different and reporting protocols need to be
understood and observed by the Cost Planning
Team.
In a pure Managing Contractor Model, the cost plan
or model would be shared with the entire project
team including the Contractor as a procurement
tool for budgeting the trade scope. In effect, the
Managing Contractor is an integral member of the
consultant team and major cost risks remain with
the client.
However, under an ECI/TFP Procurement Model,
the Contractor will assume the major cost risks, and
care needs to be given in relation to the extent of
the cost planning and cost modelling information
shared. Otherwise there remains the risk that the
TFP commercial negotiations process could be
potentially compromised.
TEACHER’S PET We took a proactive, solutions-based approach to
the management of scope and costs. When the
budget was threatened, it was important to ‘get on
the front foot’ to tackle the issues.
We provided early warning budget advice and
facilitated strategic Value Management Sessions
to understand the issues and opportunities that
were available. We also monitored the developing
design documents to ensure that the aligned
value management initiatives were implemented. I
believe the process worked particularly well and
set the Adelaide Botanic High School project up for
successful commercial negotiation and commercial
close.
A PASS WITH DISTINCTIONThe Adelaide Botanic High School was delivered by
Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), then converted
to a Total Fixed Price Contract (TFP), which does
rely heavily on: a comprehensive Principal’s Project
Requirements (PPR), precise client vision, robust
cost planning, proactive value management and
budget forecasting.
We delivered the project on time and within
budget, and it is regarded as a benchmark
contemporary secondary education facility.
Andrew SuttieManaging Director, Australia
P
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 20
IN WITH THE OLD
Lichelle NeethlingDirector, South Africa
THE IMPACT OF HERITAGE CONSERVATION ON BUILDING DEVELOPMENT IN STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA
There is a rich complexity of heritage in the second oldest
town in South Africa, Stellenbosch. Situated only 50 kilometres east of Cape Town, the town is a notable winegrowing region and home to one of the country’s leading universities. Cape Dutch architecture and oak-lined avenues are only a few of the characteristics that make Stellenbosch resonate as one of the most prominent tourist towns in South Africa.
Heritage conservation is a phenomenon certainly not unique to Stellenbosch and the global prevalence of this tradition is surely an indication of its importance. The first legislation in South Africa, focusing on the conservation of objects, buildings and monuments, dates back to 1911. The methods of conserving heritage resources, however, are widely debated about amongst professionals in the industry and is, more often than not, a big thorn in a property developer’s side.
For many, striking the balance between the protection of heritage resources in Stellenbosch and promoting urban development is fundamental. The question is: what is the true impact of heritage conservation on building development?
NATIONAL HERITAGE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
In 1999, a heritage resources act was developed by the South
African government with the aim to introduce an integrated system whereby national heritage resources can be adequately managed and controlled, ensuring the protection and preservation thereof. Purposefully, a preamble to the act further elaborates on the cultural significance that heritage buildings bestow, allowing us to comprehend the impact that national heritage resources have on the education, traditions and the spiritual wellbeing of our country.
The National Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999 (NHRA), as it is known, also brought about the establishment of an administrative body, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), to coordinate and promote the management of heritage resources at national level. The agency replaced the National Monuments Council (NMC) many years ago and is responsible for the protection of South Africa’s cultural heritage.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STELLENBOSCH’S HERITAGEIt is no secret that Stellenbosch has some of the oldest buildings in the country and with a history dating back more than 300 years, the cultural traditions and architecture are, naturally, major contributing factors to the uniqueness of the town. It is recorded that the first building in Stellenbosch was constructed around 1685 – the magistrate’s court building with
Cape Dutch architecture (rebuilt in later years), still forming an integral part of the historic core of the town today. This was followed by the construction of the first Dutch Reformed church in Stellenbosch, a mere two years later.
Lime-washed walls, thatched roofs and gabled façades are synonymous to the heritage buildings that line the streets of Stellenbosch and the reminiscent effects of these old buildings are truly invaluable. In Stellenbosch alone, there are close to 200 heritage sites – a natural reason for the impressive growth in the tourism sector over the past few years.
BUILDING DEVELOPMENT IN STELLENBOSCHPopulation growth at around two to three percent, annually, and even more so the influx of students as Stellenbosch University puts into effect its own diversification, have unequivocally contributed to the increased demand for housing in the town over the past decade.
In addition, small businesses have followed suit with Stellenbosch becoming a favoured location for co-working and shared office spaces. It has been earmarked by investors for further development in both the commercial and residential sectors and is reported to be one of South Africa’s next big economic hubs, with an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 2.9%.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 20
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 21
WHAT IS THE IMPACT?The implementation of heritage conservation of buildings, specifically the compliance with regulations, is often perceived to be a hindrance to sustainable development.
Restoration or refurbishment of old buildings is seemingly an interminable process and is known to be time-consuming, often requiring a contractor with a specific set of skills and knowledge. It is inevitable, yet an exasperating process.
An application requiring the go-ahead not only from the local municipality, but also from Heritage Western Cape (HWC) – a provincial heritage resource authority coordinating the approval process of restoration and refurbishment to any buildings classified as provincial heritage sites – can easily delay commencement of construction by a few months. A permit needs to be issued by the HWC before any building may be altered or demolished, and they are known to apply strict principles to enforce the law upon disobedience by any individual.
Furthermore, the result of construction work in a building
potentially completed in the 1600s, can be costly. The walls are typically quite brittle and you will most likely find old timber floors with a compromised structural integrity due to the void underneath. It is a fact, restoring old materials is expensive.
The direct impact on developments? More time and increased expenses.
A FAVOURABLE OUTCOMEHowever tedious this process may seem, the property developers who have courageously faced this challenge have undoubtedly reaped the fruit of their investments. The value of these buildings are immense and for a developer, being associated with the restoration or refurbishment of a building with such historic and cultural importance gives them surprisingly great stature in the town.
Contrary to popular belief, it is really not (only) about the money and more about adding value.
IN CONCLUSIONDr William J. Murtagh, the first keeper of the National Register of Historic Places in the United
States of America and a heroic preservationist of historic value, so accurately encapsulated the essence of heritage conservation when he once said that preservation engages the past, in conversation with the present, over a mutual concern for the future.
Taking a holistic approach, the cultural, architectural and historical value of buildings in Stellenbosch are undoubtedly worth the fuss and the impact on building development is trivial, given the desired outcome. The restoration or refurbishment of a heritage building is, albeit seemingly illogical at times, a fascinating process to be part of with an end product which often leaves the community lost for words.
The secret to minimal impact on building development lies with a knowledgeable professional team, a streamlined process, preparing for the unexpected delays and perhaps, most importantly, focusing on the value of the positive impact on a community.
Lichelle NeethlingDirector, South Africa
P
Roder, A.P. & Van Oers, R. (2011). Editorial: Bridging Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development [Online]. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable
Development, 1(1): 5-7. Available from: http://www.stellenboschheritage.co.za/wp-content/uploads/Editorial-bridging-cultural-heritage-and-sustainable-development.pdf
South Africa. (1999). National Heritage Resources Government Act No. 25 of 1999 [Online]. Government Gazette. (No. 19974) Available from: https://www.gov.za/sites/
default/files/gcis_document/201409/a25-99.pdf
Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation. (2020). Architectural History. Available from: http://www.stellenboschheritage.co.za/stellenbosch-resources/stellenbosch-
architecture/architectural-history-2
Western Cape Government. (2018). Socio-economic Profile: Stellenbosch Municipality 2018 [Online]. Available from: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/provincial-treasury/
files/atoms/files/WC024%20Stellenbosch%202018%20Socio-economic%20Profile%20%28SEP-LG%29%20F.pdf
Wikipedia. (2019). National Heritage Sites of South Africa. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_heritage_sites_of_South_Africa
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Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 23
Not so long ago, hotels had good reasons to
embrace standardization. Basic guest quarters
with a predictable sameness were the rule for the
business road warrior who wanted a no-frills setting
for work, as well as for vacationing families whose
kids would demolish any décor elements. The cost
of maintaining those cookie-cutter properties
was minimal. Now, however, the scenario is more
complicated.
Today, in an effort to control costs, hotel owners
are challenged to make property improvements
last longer than the typical 7- to 10-year cycle of
renovations, while still remaining competitive and
keeping up with consumers’ changing tastes and
demands. The solution is to get creative.
The recent editions of two leading industry trade
shows—Sleep + Eat in London and BDNY in New
York—provided an inside look at how the hospitality
field is evolving and identified popular and
emerging design trends that can be used in both
“soft” and more extensive property makeovers.
WELLNESS AND HEALTHWellness tourism is forecast to grow into a $1 trillion
market by 2022. Hotels that capitalize on this trend
can reap benefits beyond providing a memorable
guest experience. Promoting new health and
wellness features can raise the property’s
occupancy, boost the bottom line by increasing
average guest spending, and, with sophisticated
design enhancements, allows hoteliers to create an
additional tier of guestroom suites at an increased
average daily rate (ADR).
Design elements that are commonly upgraded
or replaced in the course of a renovation can
have an uncommon impact on a guest’s health
and wellbeing. Lighting and finish materials can
be economically, yet imaginatively, deployed to
enhance the guest experience. At Sleep & Eat,
prototype guest rooms featured lighting schemes
that were attuned to the body’s circadian rhythms.
Whether controlled by an app or hard-wired into
the hotel’s infrastructure, these can help offset jet
lag or set a serene mood for in-room meditation
sessions. Pairing the fixtures with occupancy or
motion sensors that automatically turn off the
lights can reduce energy costs.
Used as upholstery, window treatments, or wall
coverings, sound-absorbing textiles like felt and
velvet add to the acoustic insulation of a room,
increasing quiet and helping ensure a good night’s
rest.
TECHNOLOGY: SOPHISTICATED SERVICES, YET SIMPLE TO USEWhen considering upgrades to technology services
and systems, bear in mind that they should
empower staff to better serve their guests, rather
than being a futuristic replacement for high-touch
service. One possible exception to this rule: Robotic
luggage handlers, such as the one already in use at
the Yotel in New York. “Yobot” (a machine adapted
from its original use in factory assembly lines) can
lift up to 500 pounds of baggage and place it into
secure, individual storage lockers. Guests reclaim
their luggage by using a touchpad and PIN number.
Installed behind a glass wall where visitors can
observe its operation, the feature has become a
focal point of the lobby.
At the guest room, phone-based keyless entry
systems are rapidly gaining traction. Voice- or app-
operated controls for lighting, window treatments,
and thermostats—by now, all familiar features
transplanted from the home environment—are now
found in guest rooms, and are also tied into the
building’s mechanical systems, facilitating energy
efficiency.
Digital technology has an important role on the
internal side of hotel operations, as well. When
strategically used, it contributes to hoteliers’
understanding of and indeed anticipating the needs
of their customers. Automated functions such
as mobile check-in/out, cloud-based interfaces,
ACCOMMODATING DESIGNStrategic Hotel RenovationsPaul Brussow
Executive Vice President, North America
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 24
centralized communications, push notifications,
and online loyalty programs yield a constant stream
of data that allows operators to create actionable
guest and property improvements. Relatedly, social
media platforms such as Instagram, TripAdvisor,
and Yelp are valuable sources for both promotion
and customer insight.
AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCESThe influence of Airbnb, with its emphasis on
unique environments, has pushed hotels to be
more creative and develop a genuine sense
of place. Overall, guests’ desire for distinctive
designs coupled with personalized experiences
has supplanted the once-valued model of
homogeneity and also eclipsed extravagant,
over-the-top interiors. Today’s travelers want
to feel a genuine connection to real people and
places, not to amorphic branding concepts.
Authenticity—as conveyed by finishes, furnishings,
and programming—is the aesthetic expression that
travelers are craving.
For example, incorporating recycled, locally
sourced materials in the hotel conveys the essence
of the place. At the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur,
nature and sustainability are forefronted in guest
rooms that are paneled in redwood reclaimed
from wine barrels. Visitors to the inn’s native plant
garden sit on benches fabricated from fallen trees.
The authentic experience extends to the dining
room, where tableware is made of plant fibers.
In the ultimate economic efficiency, some of these
experiential innovations don’t require an investment
in the physical hotel—they can be realized through
marketing channels. The New York Hilton Midtown
offers a “City that Never Sleeps” package that
immerses guests into the round-the-clock culture
of the Big Apple. Featuring a night owl-friendly
midnight check-in and 3PM check-out, the package
includes a 24-hour destination guide, curated by
the hotel team, highlighting quintessential NYC
activities that run all night, including 24-hour pizza
joints, the Staten Island Ferry, and the dazzling
lights of Times Square.
SOCIAL SPACESFor better or worse, technology and social media
have irrevocably changed the way we live. Hoteliers
and their designers can be in the vanguard of
promoting the human interaction that has been
lost by providing guests with the chance to
connect with others in person, or even reconnect
with themselves. The challenge is to provide
flexible spaces where users can activate the social
experience of their choice.
Hotel lobbies are no longer simple transitional
spaces, conduits for travelers moving from reception
desk to elevator. They aren’t merely waiting places,
either. The dynamic design of lobbies and public
spaces (such as rooftop lounges) is a concession
to younger guests, who simply don’t want to
stay isolated in their rooms. Lobbies have been
transformed into vibrant centers of diverse activities.
For business travelers, a more functional lobby—with
reliable WiFi, power outlets everywhere, and large
shared worktables—becomes an extension of the
office and evokes a cool, co-working ambiance.
At Sleep & Eat, design firm SpaceInvader created
what senior interior designer Izzy Eling calls “a bar
without a bar.” She points out that “The biggest
barrier between service and the customer within
a bar is the bar itself.” Guests use wall-mounted
phones to place their food and drink orders while
relaxing in a space populated with movable,
freestanding furnishings rather than built-in, fixed
seating and tables. Patrons are encouraged to
customize the space to facilitate interaction.
According to the Preston Robert Tisch Center for
Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at
New York University, 15% of existing hotels undergo
renovation every year. The challenge for operators
is to balance economy and efficiency with style.
While some of the design visions presented at
the trade shows were highly conceptual, they do
provide an exciting investigation into what travelers
want in their choice of lodgings. From 5-star luxury
establishments to roadside stalwarts, keen hoteliers
in all categories will take a creative cue from these
studies, and let them inform their next renovation.
Paul BrussowExecutive Vice President, North America
P
Taking ambitious projects from an idea to reality
RLB.com
This 900,000 ft2 multi tower development includes two residential towers of 65 and 35 storeys, together with a
4-star 21 storey hotel, all linked by a central public square at ground floor.
At 713ft high, Aspen at Consort Place will be one of Canary Wharf’s tallest residential towers. The 65 storey
Aspen tower includes approximately 500 apartments, a spa and a spectacular sky bar on the 63rd floor.
RLB UK is providing cost management, project management and employer’s agent services for the client,
Far East Consortium.
ASPEN | CONSORT PLACE, a development by Far East Consortium
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 26
PPP AND THE SWISS CHALLENGE
There are many types of Public-Private
Partnerships (PPP) arrangements with varying
degrees of private sector participation, all of
which are driven by limitations in public funds to
cover investments needs and efforts to increase
the quality and efficiency of public services. In all
arrangements, there are four broad principal roles
for the private sector – to provide additional capital,
alternative management and implementation skills,
value added for the consumer and public at large
and to better identify needs and optimise the use
of resources.
As of 2016, more than 5,000 infrastructure
projects (translating to $1.5 trillion of investment
commitments) in 121 low- and middle-income
economies were delivered through PPPs in a
span of 25 years. While competition is crucial in
obtaining good value for money from the PPP
arrangement, unsolicited proposals (USPs) are an
alternative to the traditional competitive bidding
framework.
In a USP, an individual private sector player
identifies an infrastructure project that has
not been earmarked by the public sector for
development and approaches the government
after establishing the project feasibility and
specifications for their approval. In this instance, the
project is not won through a competitive bidding
which runs the risk of not achieving the best value
for money.
The Swiss Challenge method is one method of
procurement that appears to address concerns
and limitations of USPs. Upon receipt of the USP
and evaluation, the government could choose to
either (1) buy the intellectual property rights from
the proponent and proceed to issue a request for
proposal (RFP) and awarding the project to the
most competitive bidder, or (2) allow other players
of similar calibre to submit counter-offers which the
original proponent is challenged to match or risk
having his USP offered to the best bidder.
ADOPTING THE SWISS CHALLENGE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE WORKSGenerally, developing countries looking to catch up
in terms of economic development would need to
invest in soft and hard infrastructure and in three
possible ways – privatisation, increasing public
spending or engaging in PPP. The PPP arrangement
for infrastructure projects is generally seen as
a balanced approach which harnesses the cost
efficiency of the private sector while allowing the
public sector to retain ownership of public assets in
the long run.
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 27
In recent years, our regional office has had the
opportunity to provide quantity surveying (QS)
services to one of the up and coming PPPs utilising
the Swiss Challenge procurement method. Unlike
the conventional reason for utilising the Swiss
Challenge, this PPP was a solicited proposal by
the regional government to develop a new city.
The government formed a Special Purpose Vehicle
(SPV) to spearhead the project as an entity “to
assist in the realisation of the project”.
The first phase of the mega-project was to develop
the infrastructure works over 8,000 hectares of
land currently used for agricultural purposes.
Works for the first phase include the construction
of bridges, roads, power stations, water and
wastewater treatment plants and infrastructure
for the planned industrial areas and resettled
communities.
The proponent submitted a set of pre-project
documents (PPD) which included the land use plan
for the project and its associated design, technical
specifications and high-level cost breakdown of the
infrastructure works based on input from their team
of designers and surveyors. The cost component
was then evaluated and negotiated and the PPD re-
packaged into an adapted Swiss Challenge tender
document for public tender. The open tender was
an invitation to submit counter price proposals
based on the PPD design.
In the event that a company successfully challenges
the proponent with a lower bid, the proponent can
choose to match the price offer or bow out but be
reimbursed for the costs incurred in preparing the
PPD.
CHALLENGES FACED AND LESSONS LEARNEDDuring the pre-contract stage, the following
aspects of the Swiss Challenge contractual
arrangement were of critical importance in ensuring
transparency while also ensuring value for money:
Procurement method
To achieve the most cost efficiency for any project,
a free and open competition should be ensured.
This is also the underlying principle of the Swiss
Challenge. A fair competition can be assured
through transparency and accountability of the
tendering process.
We sought to ensure that any challenger would be
able to price for the tender by ensuring all standard
and relevant documents were issued – from project
specific front-end documents to detailed tender
drawings where applicable, technical specifications
ADOPTION OF THE SWISS CHALLENGE:
A CASE STUDY FROM THE QS PERSPECTIVE
Silas LohJoint Managing Partner, Singapore
Tay Wan DingResearch Manager, Singapore
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 28
and site survey reports. As with most established
and mature economies, a comprehensive quality
criteria framework was clearly set out to adhere to
good governance principles.
One clear disadvantage stands in the way of a truly
fair competition – there are no symmetry in bidding
time given to challengers to prepare their counter
proposals. By provision of a comprehensive tender
document as if it were a traditional tendering
process, it could justify the shorter time frame
given to the challenger to submit their counter
price proposals.
Contractual framework
A single, comprehensive PPP law spelling out
all parties’ contractual obligations in a clear and
concise manner can make a difference between
a successful and unsuccessful public-private
collaboration. As an emerging economy, we did not
have a single source of contract legal framework for
PPPs to work with and instead relied on a number
of existing relevant laws and contract forms (e.g.
arbitration laws, common law, local standard forms,
etc.).
The front-end documents, in particular the
Conditions of Contract and Particular Conditions,
were drafted by our in-house legal team for the
Client’s legal counsel to review. Several discussions
were held to understand the intent and effect
of the bespoke clauses. These include potential
“deal breaker” issues such as payment and
dispute resolution mechanisms as differences will
inexorably arise between parties during the span of
the long-term contract.
By endeavouring to include issues specific to PPPs
and USPs, we decreased the ambiguities between
contracting parties and thus instil in potential
challengers the confidence in the challenge.
Pricing transparency
In the evaluation of the proponent’s cost
breakdown, we discovered that in using differing
standards of measurement, there was a gap
between the quantities and rates. Given that the
proponent was a foreign entity and had utilised
their own standard of measurement, our initial
checking quantities based on the local standard
method of measurement (SMM) were not within
the acceptable deviation.
This led to prolonged evaluation and numerous
working meetings to ensure the proponent’s
quantities complied with the local SMM.
Concurrently, the trade preambles documents were
reviewed in conjunction with the Schedule of Works
and Daywork Rates to ensure all the principles of
measurement were in line.
In doing so, challengers would be submitting
their counter-proposals on the same basis as
the proponent, ensuring a fair comparison of
prices. In the long term, it was essential for all
pricing documents to be aligned to decrease any
disputes that could arise during the post-contract
stage on the grounds of conflicting methods of
measurement.
CONCLUSIONThe spirit of a PPP and the Swiss Challenge is
manifested in the principles of transparency,
accountability and cost efficiency. As an
independently appointed consultant, we endeavour
to meet the objectives of each unique project
through systematic assessment while remaining
a neutral party. In this case study, the objectives
can be accomplished with the establishment of
a comprehensive law, framework and contract
documentation.
Bhusal, N. (2016). Public Private Partnership as a Path to Development for Myanmar: A Review of the International Experience. Yangon: Myanmar Institute of Strategic
and International Studies. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://myanmarisis.org/publication_pdf/neealm-bhusal-public-private-partnership-as-a-path-to-develop-
ment-for-myanmar-a-review-of-the-international-experience-misis-website-34sRl7.pdf
European Commission. (2003). Guidelines for Successful Public - Private Partnerships. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/
docgener/guides/ppp_en.pdf
Ministry of Finance Singapore. (2012, March). Public Private Partnership Handbook (Version 2). Retrieved December 12, 2019, from Ministry of Finance Singapore: https://
www.mof.gov.sg/Portals/0/Policies/ProcurementProcess/PPPHandbook2012.pdf
Podile, V., & Rao, N. J. (2017). Swiss Challenge Method - An Innovative Public Private Partnership Model in India. Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and
Management, 384-390.
The World Bank. (2016). Benchmarking Public-Private Partnerships Procurement 2017: Assessing Government Capability to Prepare, Procure and Manage PPPs. Re-
trieved October 31, 2019, from https://pppknowledgelab.org/data
Silas LohJoint Managing Partner, Singapore
Tay Wan DingResearch Manager, Singapore
P
Shaping the future of the built environment
RLB.com
The Raffles Hotel is one of the few remaining great 19th century hotels in the world and was declared a Singapore
National Monument in 1987. After undergoing 2 years of complete refurbishment, “The Grand Old Dame” was
reopened on 1 August 2019.
RLB was involved from inception to completion, in restoration and refurbishment of this 132 year old building, which
has been carefully re-designed to preserve it’s unique historic charm. We are proud to be able to deliver this iconic
project successfully while meeting the client needs.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 30
TO COLLABORATEOR COOPERATE?
BUT IS THAT THE QUESTION?
The successful delivery of strategic programmes
is more challenging today than ever. While
project management is focused typically on delivery
as it relates to quality, cost and time, programme
management operates more on a strategic level.
It can deliver a package of benefits and value that
single projects would not generate on their own. As a
result, programme management requires a different
approach to project management as the relationship
between connected projects drives a different set
of behaviours. These behaviours often require the
programme manager to make best use of the skills
and experience across all the programme and project
teams. We usually call this collaboration.
Just as DNA contains the genetic instructions
used in the development and functioning of cells,
understanding the DNA of a programme - and the
organisation within which the programme is being
managed - provides the programme manager with
essential information to ensure the right behaviours
are embedded at the outset and encouraged and
nurtured throughout the programme duration. At
the heart of these behaviours is usually the desire
to collaborate, but do we really collaborate on
programmes or do we, at best, cooperate?
Cooperation is really a simple approach to
collaboration. The relationship is often informal and
requires minimal planning with little investment in time
and energy.
Collaboration is much more complicated. It requires
two or more parties, organisations or teams to join
forces to deliver a programme with shared goals
to gain shared benefits from the programme while
remaining true to their own organisations.
Collaboration enables a programme team to:
� share resources, skills, capabilities or capacity
� share learnings, best practice and training
� deliver programme benefits greater than what
could be achieved individually
� allocate risk to those best equipped to manage it,
and
� derive additional benefits drawn from the strengths
of the group.
We often see this style of approach with a joint
venture where organisations believe that no
one team has all the answers. However, real
collaboration requires a higher degree of unification
and accountability. Each organisation must be as
committed to the process as it is to the programme
itself. Cooperation between organisations or teams
can be achieved relatively easily as the risk to the
individual parties is significantly less.
As programme strategies are developed, the
question asked is, “How are we going to deliver this
programme?” This inevitably leads to a discussion
about whether we need to collaborate. But is that the
right question to ask?
If we are truly focused on determining the best
way to deliver a programme, we need to create
an environment that supports, sustains, innovates,
manages risk, and simplifies complexity. In order to
do this, the parties need to become compatible. This
can be achieved by unlocking the organisational and
programme DNA from the beginning and ensuring
that all parties are involved including, and without
exception, the client team.
Traditionally in programme management, much of
the focus and effort has been on controlling the
programme once it is underway, with little regard for
preparation. The end of the programme, when you
evaluate the benefits delivered, skills transferred, and
lessons learned, is often neglected.
By challenging the traditional approaches to delivering
complex programmes, we can focus energies on the
preparation stage and build the right programme
strategy from the outset. That way we can be assured
that we have the right skills, partners and operating
culture to ensure a smoother programme delivery
through an optimised control framework.
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 31
MARK WEAVERCOMMERCIAL & TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, UNITED KINGDOM
DELIVERING PROGRAMMES DIFFERENTLY (DOUBLE HELIX)
This approach creates manageable, transparent
and controlled programmes that reduce risk, deliver
effective procurement, safeguard results and provide
added value.
The preparation stage is critical. Understanding how
the programme should interact with its environment is
an important decision to make. So, are we isolationist,
cooperative or collaborative? Today most people
would say collaborative, but is that the right solution
for the programme? We can explore further at the
outset by asking five questions.
DO WE NEED TO WORK WITH ANOTHER PARTY? Does one individual or firm have all the skills and
experience necessary to deliver a programme
without any interaction with others? Unlikely, but
can we simply interact with stakeholders through
an engagement plan, or will we get more impactful
results by solving problems and working as a team?
SHOULD WE HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS STRUCTURE IN PLACE? Without communication, teams cannot survive or
thrive. For collaboration to be truly effective, the use
of collaborative workspaces will help keep everyone
connected with increased productivity. However, all
parties must be willing to share and be transparent
otherwise this is simply cooperation.
HOW ADAPTABLE DO WE NEED TO BE? Successful programme delivery depends on the
team’s ability and willingness to adapt together. The
desire to ‘keep things how we’ve always done them’
can negatively impact on the team relationships,
expectations and shared visions. We need to be able
to listen to our partners and clients openly.
DO WE NEED LEADERSHIP? Team collaboration relies on a strong leader who
needs to trust that team members will complete their
tasks regardless of the organisation or team they come
from. Leaders must set expectations early as part of the
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 32
preparation stage and create a supportive, performing
culture. Leaders must also seek opposing views as these
are valuable and encourage innovation.
DO WE NEED TO SEEK AND LEVERAGE EXPERTISE? It is extremely difficult for most programmes to be
delivered in isolation. We rely on the expertise of others,
be that inside or outside our organisation, just as our
partners will rely on our expertise. This mutuality must be
framed in a programme environment that is supportive
and rewards good behaviours.
Ultimately, we all strive for mutual trust and respect in
an environment and culture that will capitalise on our
strengths - a place where we can all work together in
the spirit of collaboration to achieve better outcomes.
But does that prohibit the delivery of successful
programmes? Not necessarily, however:
Do we work alone? Rarely.
Do we cooperate with other people or organisations?
More often than not.
Do we establish the right environment and culture to
truly collaborate? Sometimes, but that is not always a
problem.
Cooperation can deliver very successful programmes.
What prevents the delivery of successful programmes is
when each team member or organisation has a different
understanding of the programme, accountabilities
and responsibilities. Success stops when individuals,
teams and organisations seek to protect or ringfence
information. Success stops when communication fails.
Success stops when we do not set the programme up
properly. Success stops when we do not understand the
DNA of the programme.
RLB’s Assured Start programme analyses the current
or envisaged programme environment to decode that
DNA. From a targeted initial assessment, the team
builds a series of recommendations which will set up
the right environment to build a successful programme
ecosystem, one that builds resilience, reduces risk and
increases the probability of success. This approach
ensures that regardless of whether the best delivery
approach is collaborative, cooperative or standalone
– the right strategies have been designed and
implemented from the outset giving the best chance of
success.
Mark WeaverCommercial & Technical Director, United Kingdom
P
Challenging the norm with fresh perspectives
RLB.com
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Spadina Subway Extension is a major, multi-faceted transportation project
that provides a Rapid Transit Link (subway) across the municipal boundary between the City of Toronto and the
Regional Municipality of York. The project expands the Line 1 subway line by 8.6 km and adds six new TTC stations.
The project also includes the redevelopment of infrastructure displaced by the subway line extension including City
of Toronto Fire Station 141.
RLB was retained to participate with the project controls team, Stantec, to provide full pre-construction cost
estimates for the project to validate the business plan, including risk assessments.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 34 Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 34
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 35
Competitive computer gaming, known as esports,
is predicted to become the biggest spectator sport,
surpassing American Football, by 2025. The esports
phenomenon is challenging our venues and driving us to
create flexible spaces to accommodate esports events
and it’s growing community.
RISE OF ESPORTS
The earliest known computer game competition
dates back to 1972 at Stanford University , and
as computer games evolved, competitive gaming
became more popular. Whilst video games continued
to develop and become more complex, it was the
development and accessibility of faster broadband
internet speed, along with better connectivity, that led
to global competitive tournament play and live video
streaming.
Fast forward to today and the popularity of esports
has grown exponentially year on year along with
sponsorship and prize money. Professional players
compete in esports leagues and esports teams are
increasingly becoming a part of pro sport leagues and
franchises.
With the largest growing fanbase of any sports, there
are estimated to be over 495 million esports viewers
worldwide, with 223 million of these being devout
esports enthusiasts.1 In 2019 we saw teenage gaming
sensations pocket millions of dollars watched by
millions of fans across the world.
ESPORTS A GAME CHANGER FOR SPORTING AND ENTERTAINMENT VENUES
Oliver NicholsDirector, Australia
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 36
CONNECTIVITYFor a sport that happens largely in the virtual world,
the opportunity to connect in the real world is critical
to building a community. In esports terms, connectivity
is both physical and psychological and whilst esports
generates a mass of online spectator’s, events are
becoming increasingly popular as players and fans get
the chance to engage with each other.
When stability and connectivity is key for an esports
tournament, finding a suitable venue to host esports
events can be a challenge. There are varying types of
game platforms and competitions, meaning that no one
layout suits all, and there can be a need to dramatically
transform venues to accommodate gamer and fan
engagement.
SPACE INVADERSCurrently esports are being played in a variety of sport
and entertainment spaces such as cinemas, convention
centres, arenas and stadia, and all have pros and cons.
The large open space of a Convention Centre enables
the venue to be adapted to suit the specific competition
requirements and have been utilised for tournaments
with multiple matches taking place at any one time.
However, overlay costs can be higher due to the need
to temporarily install hi-tech infrastructure equipment,
stages for competitors and seating for spectators.
Stadia and Arenas have the advantage of existing
infrastructure and can easily be adapted with a variety
of stage styles. Many esports tournaments use an
end-stage setup where a ringed spectator seating is
required, Arenas can be configured with a centre staging
and centrally hung jumbotrons. Stadia and Arenas can
accommodate large crowds, however upper seating
bowls are generally empty due to poor spectator
viewing of players, commentators and most importantly
screens. In addition, there is often a requirement for
additional temporary mechanical and electrical services
due to the IT load and cooling requirements.
THE CALL OF DUTYVenues are starting to explore what their purpose-built
facilities will look like in the future and how they can
attract this next generation of fans while satisfying
the diverse needs of competitors. This leads to the
challenge for the built environment to design adaptive
entertainment venues where traditional bowl designs
can compromise the experience of the esports players,
fans or both.
Lead designers have commenced the journey working
with stakeholders to create appropriate venues and
solutions to these issues.
Detroit based architects Rossetti, consider that an
inverted bowl arena has several benefits for esports.
The inverted bowl concept brings spectators closer
to the action by eliminating the upper bowl and
projecting tiered balconies forward. With large ceiling
hung videoboards, this arrangement provides fans
with optimal views of screens and players on-stage. In
addition, compared to a traditional bowl, an inverted
bowl generates a smaller footprint which can provide a
more scalable solution for dedicated esports venues.2
HOK have also been exploring the scalability and
adaptiveness of venues to meet specific gaming needs
with player infrastructure being easily transferrable
around an arena to create different atmospheres and
experiences. HOK has designed a circular system
consisting of large, movable, petal-shaped screens with
the ability to display content and/or be used for lighting
and effects. These huge surfaces hang above the
seating bowl and double as team screens for a player’s
hub located centrally in the arena.3
Similarly, Populous has been using new technology to
design a ceiling transformation system that shape-shifts
into a variety of configurations and sizes dependent
on an events scale. The ceiling acts as an immersive
projection canvas and can be adapted from full arena
mode into a half-house or quarter house mode to create
a more intimate and atmospheric venue.4
Total Audience
$395M
2018-2020 Global Esports Audience
Source: Newzoo
202020192018
Total Audience
$443M
Total Audience
$495M
$222M
$245M
$272M
$223M$198M$173M
Esports Enthusiasts Occasional Viewers
$865M
2018-2022 Global Esports Market
Source: Newzoo
20222021202020192018
272M
$1,096M
$1,340M
$1,566M
$1,790M
Forecast toward 2022
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 37
PLAYER ONE READYWhilst many larger esports events will continue to be
held in existing large-scale stadia and arenas, there is an
increasing demand from organisations and companies to
create dedicated esports arenas.
Late 2018 saw the transformation of part of the
Arlington Convention Centre Center into the largest
dedicated gaming and esports facility in North America
with a capacity of 2,500. The arena is open to the
public seven days a week and features over 50 gaming
stations. In addition, the arena houses broadcast studios,
team training facilities and social and retail spaces
for spectators and fans. It has become the source of
valuable data and insight into the expectations of fans
and engagement from a social and cultural perspective.
In 2021 we should see the completion of Fusion Arena,
the first ground-up purpose-built esports arena in
the western hemisphere. The 3,500-capacity venue
located in Philadelphia will accommodate team offices
and training facility along with a broadcast studio.
Spectators will be treated to a variety of viewing
experiences including two balcony bars, seats with USB
ports, boxes and suites.
On a smaller scale, this year will see the Fortress
Melbourne Esports Arena become the largest esports
arena in the southern hemisphere. Located within the
Emporium Melbourne shopping complex the venue will
include a 200-seat purpose-built esports arena, gaming
suites, restaurant, two bars and a professional esports
boot camp room and training facilities.
Oliver NicholsDirector, Australia
P
1 Global Esports Market Report, Newzoo, 20192 The Evolution of Esports Venues, Rossetti, September 20183 Developing the Esports Arenas of the Future, HOK, 20194 The Future of Esports Arenas, Populous, 2017
At the other end of the spectrum, Hangzhou, is home to
the first esports town. Opened in late 2018 and operated
by the Hangzhou government, the esports town covers
an area of 17,000 square metres. There are plans to build
14 esports facilities before 2022 including a theme park,
esports academy, esports themed hotel and even a
hospital specialising in treating players.
Hangzhou’s esports town is the first of its kind in China,
however it is unlikely to be the last, due to the huge
popularity of esports and previous announcements of
plans for similar esports towns in the East China cities of
Wuhu and Taicang.
THE FUTURE’S BRIGHTAs global brands increase sponsorship and marketing,
the esports community will continue to grow. Based
on the revenue and fanbase growth in esports over
recent years, the forecast future for the esports industry
is bright. This will inevitably lead to advancements in
technology and changing requirements of the industry.
The built environment will therefore need to ensure
venue renovations and purpose-built facilities keep
pace with these progressions. With the emergence of
purpose-built venues across the world there will be a
need for existing stadia and arena venues to experiment
and innovate if they wish to compete for esports events
and a piece of the market.
The esports phenomenon is showing no signs of slowing
down and is undeniably a game changer in the design of
our sporting and entertainment venues.
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Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 38
THE NEW ERA OF PROJECT SCHEDULING:The Practical, the Possible, and the Pitfalls
John ArmstrongAssociate, North America
Today, one of the most challenging tasks facing
the construction is the ability to complete
projects on time. Construction firms and owners
are seeking creative solutions to manage schedule
risk and perfect their ability to deliver certainty.
Liquidated damages, spoiled reputations, and lost
profits are just a few motivators for any player the
industry to improve its performance on projects.
Improved schedule management practices can
take multiple forms. The most basic is planning and
scheduling resources in the most efficient manner.
The industry is experiencing workforce shortages
across nearly all trades and lack of qualified labor
is a regular cause for delays on construction
projects. This can be partially mitigated by ensuring
subcontractors and crews are working without
interruptions caused by congested areas, multiple
mobilizations, sporadic work flow, and/or partially
available work fronts. Giving crews continuous,
logical, and uninterrupted work flows helps improve
productivity and efficiency as well as improves
subcontractors’ confidence in the schedule and
aides in their planning efforts.
Another method to improve schedule certainty is
to improve the accuracy and frequency in which
schedules are updated. The schedule is at the very
least a contemporaneous representation of the
parties’ understanding of that overall plan, what
has been completed and what will happen in the
future. The schedule is then intended to be used
to make informed business decisions and without
accurate and timely information, contractors and
owners cannot make smart decisions on how best
to proceed. Having accurate, contemporaneous
records increases the likelihood of resolving time-
extension requests at the project level and identify
practical methods for accelerating the schedule
when faced with delays. Accurate schedules also
minimize costly disputes that cause distractions
on the project and rarely results in a winner when
it turns into litigation or arbitration. Contractors,
owners, and other construction firms can improve
update accuracy by closely adhering to AACE
International’s published recommended practices
for planning and scheduling.
Based upon my experience and anecdotal
evidence, the call for aggressive schedules is
recently more likely to come from owners than
contractors. However, most owners fail to realize
that accelerated schedules come with higher
price tags. Contractors aren’t typically willing to
forecast optimistic completion dates because they
are feeling the real impacts of labor and material
shortages that often prevent aggressive schedules.
The most common times I see aggressive schedules
being implemented is when the owner demands
it or a contractor is relying on an early completion
date as a bidding strategy. As a whole, I believe
that the overall industry focus is more on driving
scheduling certainty than aggressive schedules,
which can be pricy, risky, and often unachievable.
PROJECT SCHEDULING AND THE PROMISE OF TECHNOLOGYScheduling-related software has been increasingly
improving for the last decade, making it easier
to create schedules, perform risk analysis, and
produce reports.
Some of the most exciting programs contractors
have embraced create schedules and assist
planning through all stages of a project. SYNCHRO
and other programs tie BIM to the schedule, are
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 39
becoming more widely accepted in planning and
scheduling efforts. Some scheduling software
platforms, such as Asta Powerproject, have made
a concerted effort to make it easier to create 4D
schedules.
Software can also prepare near-real-time reports
on schedule performance, often through add-ons
to existing construction management systems,
such as those offered by Prolog, Aconex, and
Ineight. Detailed comparison reporting is also
feasible through standalone packages such as
Acumen Fuse or Ron Winter’s Schedule Analyzer.
These platforms allow schedulers to share with
stakeholders a more in-depth view of the project
schedule—one that goes beyond PDF printouts
and doesn’t require expensive software licenses.
In other words, superintendents and managers
now have unfettered access to the inner workings
of complex schedules that had previously been a
black box.
Dashboarding—the digital display of multiple key
performance indicators on a shared web page
that is constantly updated—is becoming more and
more popular, with some contractors and owners
designing their own in-house systems that connect
scheduling databases with Business Intelligence
(BI) platforms, such as Tableau and Power BI.
Dashboarding is a great way to communicate
complex scheduling information to non-schedulers
or even non-construction professionals, and can
be used to capitalize on opportunities as well as
mitigate project risks that might have been missed
through traditional-style monthly reporting.
Looking ahead, I see augmented reality (AR) being
used to identify conflicts or problems in the field
before they become a delay. In the construction
industry, AR is still in its infancy and has a high cost
of entry, but I believe it will become much more
prevalent as that financial barrier lowers, given the
value it provides. TILOS, Asta Power Project, and
Phoenix Project Manager are competitive, viable
alternatives to Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project.
And it seems like there are new suites coming out
all the time that assist in conducting pull planning
sessions.
PROJECT SCHEDULING AND THE PERILS OF TECHNOLOGYWhile technology is unquestionably a driving force
in scheduling, it’s not without its caveats. In fact,
technology—in and of itself—may not necessarily
improve efficiency and productivity. I have growing
concerns that many schedulers function more like
software developers than they do actual planners.
0 39
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 40
They are not able to determine the accuracy of the
information produced from these new software
packages. Accordingly, we have to make sure that
advances in technology aren’t just a ‘cool new toy’
and are a tool that leads to smart decision making
and identifying pragmatic solutions to common
problems.
Also, arbitrarily or capriciously removing “fluff” or
float time to produce more aggressive schedules
is not necessarily the goal or even desirable. Float
is often overlooked as a tool to build the most
realistic, feasible schedule possible. One of the
benefits of technology is to eliminate mundane
scheduling work, such as repetitious tasks and
identifying how complex sequences of work relate
to each other. This helps save time and affords
construction professionals more opportunities to
find a better way to build the project or avert risk.
And this can be achieved by the smart utilization of
float—not its elimination.
This situation reminds me of something my mother
used to say to me: “Don’t be in a hurry to screw
up.” There are actually many instances where it
does not make sense to aggressively complete
select scopes of work within the schedule; the
benefit it brings is not worth the costs and risks
associated with the acceleration. Here’s an example:
building or renting additional concrete formwork
may result in completing some tasks earlier, but
it incurs additional costs and the time saved may
not result in other scopes wrapping up any sooner
or shortening the critical path. Given the ongoing
labor shortage, I think a better application of new
scheduling technologies is to minimize idle or
standby time for resources as well as generating
uninterrupted work flows for crew.
STAYING ON THE RIGHT TRACKContinual growth and improvement should always
be the primary goal for the construction industry,
regardless if we are talking about safety, quality,
time, and/or money. There are three actions that I
believe will improve the industry’s scheduling and
planning performance:
� Promote advancing technologies. Technological
innovation can help address the shortages
in competent schedulers by minimizing
redundancies and sharpening data analytics.
Specialized technology, such as artificial
intelligence, can also help with running scenarios
and quantifying risks that previously have been
difficult and time-consuming. Developments in
4D scheduling also help eliminate conflicts prior
to work starting in the field and aid in planning
efforts. Finally, new scheduling software is
creating much-needed competition that the
industry has not seen in a while. This is dropping
the costs of software while simultaneously
improving performance and usability.
� Democratize project planning and scheduling.
Succinctly put, this means getting all project
stakeholders (including the people who are
actually building the work) involved with
the upfront planning. While there has been
some industry-wide progress on this front in
the last few years, there’s still plenty of room
for improvement. There are many exciting
practices being generated by groups like the
Lean Construction Institute, and I am optimistic
that this trend of collaborative scheduling will
continue.
� Emphasize field experience as well as software
proficiency. I have a growing concern that
many of today’s schedulers lack relevant field
experience. They are unable to critically evaluate
the accuracy or validity of outputs that come
from scheduling software. There is no simple
answer to this problem; however, I know some
contractors train foremen and superintendents
to become full-time, long-term schedulers. I
have seen this successfully done on several
occasions and I hope to see this practice
become more prevalent. I have a tremendous
amount of respect for the folks out in the field
and some of the best schedules I have seen
have been generated by former craft persons. In
fact, my first scheduling mentor was someone
who started in the construction industry as a
mason.
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 41
John ArmstrongAssociate, North America
As seen in: Construction Executive, December 2019, “The New Era
of Project Scheduling: The Practical, the Possible and the
Pitfalls”
P
Implementing these three strategies will
simultaneously help us reclaim the basics of sound
planning and scheduling and ensure a vibrant,
relevant future for the practice. I am constantly
advocating that construction professionals
understand and follow closely the recommended
practices published by AACE International to
avoid the late projects, blown budgets, claims, and
confusion that are the inevitable result of slipped
standards. If we collectively address issues that
range from shaping the best software to educating
and training new practitioners, the benefits will
extend to the entire industry.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 42 Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 42
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THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
S ince 1949, China has adopted a planned economy system. In construction industry,
the pricing system used in cost management was based on standard schedule of rates, which was a set of combined standard items of quantity and price. At that time, projects were allocated to construction companies according to government plans, construction costs were priced according to standard rates, and final accounts were prepared based on actual work done. In the absence of cost consulting company, all the cost estimation works were done by design institutes.
In 1984, China had turned to a system of planned commodity economy which acknowledged buildings as tradable products. Tendering system was introduced in that period, yet, there was no change to the use of standard schedule of rates. In 1992, China began to move towards a market economic system in which the market was expected to play a fundamental role in resource allocation. In 2014, China’s leaders pledged to let the market play a decisive role in the economy, and the planned economy system was repudiated from that time onwards.
Wang WeiqingDirector, North Asia
of Government Funded Projects’ Cost Management in China
THE PAST, PRESENT,
AND FUTURE
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Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 44
During the above period, the government
promulgated the Preambles for Bills of Quantities for
use in Construction Works (GB50500-2013) in 2003
for the construction sector. However, the mechanism
where prices were determined by the market was not
popular in government funded construction projects,
because the government had not established a cost
management system which was compatible with the
market economy.
THE CURRENT SITUATION At present, the government funded construction
projects, which still dominate the construction market
in China, are facing some challenges in terms of
project cost management: `
� Current policies and regulations are incompatible with market economy
The existing laws and regulations of project cost
management are formulated in the planned
economy period. Many laws and regulations were
issued before the implementation of the decisive
market economic system, and for this reason,
they cannot meet the requirements of the market
economy. These include laws and regulations
imposed on the Cost Estimate System, the Bidding
System, the Final Account Settlement System, etc.
� Current government regulatory system does not adapt to marketization
The government funded projects are supervised
by different segments of the government body.
There is no single department to undertake the
responsibility of investment, and the developer
is not assigned as the legal entity. Administrative
management still plays a leading role in cost
management.
� Standard schedule of rates remains dominant
Although China has implemented the Bills
of Quantities system, the cost management
department still relies on the Standard Schedule of
Rates to handle tender evaluation, final accounts,
cost audit, etc. Furthermore, the developer,
consultants and regulatory departments have
expanded the use of Standard Schedule of Rates
for the sake of convenience and exempting
themselves from liability.
� Segmented cost management
The project cost management in China is
segmented into stages, which deprives cost
practitioners of participating in full quantity
surveying and building up relevant experience.
In the segmented process, different parties
have different responsibilities: design institute is
responsible for the cost estimates of schematic
design and preliminary design, tender agent
preparing the tender documents and bills of
quantities, cost consultant preparing the control
tender price, then selected experts are engaged
to evaluate the tender. At the construction stage,
the cost consultant or the supervision company is
in charge of the cost control. The project audit is
undertaken by the auditing company.
� Design documents lack specific details
As the design documents are developed
according to the Standard Schedule of Rates
system in China, most of them lack specific details
and cannot fulfil the requirements of fair market
competition as well as full quantity surveying.
THE WAY FORWARDIn coping with the increasing demands of a market-
oriented cost management for government funded
projects, a number of reforms should be carried out
from the perspectives of a market economy.
� Implement a project legal person’s responsibility system
A project legal person’s responsibility system
should be implemented. Moreover, the developers
of government funded projects should be allowed
to carry out full quantity surveying services in
accordance with international standards.
� Cancel the bidding ceiling
There should be no maximum limit to the quotes
in order to reflect a real market mechanism. More
stringent penalties on illegal activities should be
imposed to maintain a sound market environment..
� Eliminate the use of Standard Schedule of Rates
In order to fully support the market mechanism, it
is recommended to eliminate the use of Standard
Schedule of Rates for evaluating contract prices,
reviewing change orders and settling final
accounts.
� Establish a market-oriented database of project costs
A market-orientated database of project costs
should be set up. The database and other cost
information including market price and index
should be released to public on a regular basis.
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 45
� Implement a complete cost management throughout the process
An integrated cost management system with
liability should be put in place to replace the
current segmented cost management. This
integrated system should cover the full spectrum
of quantity surveying including the preparation
of estimate, tender agent, contract management,
project final account settlement, etc.
� Formulate a well-established standard contract
By integrating the international experience and
the characteristics of construction industry in
China, a well-established standard contract for
building and civil engineering projects should
be formulated to meet the demands of different
entities, outsourcing models and pricing models.
� Reform the design deliverables documents
The existing design deliverables documents
should be reformed and provide more detailed
information with reference to international
standards. For example, the documents on tender
drawing stage as well as technical specification
should be added.
Currently, the Chinese government has run a
pilot program which carries out the full quantity
surveying services on some selected government
funded projects. Although overseas cost consulting
companies are mainly involved in foreign and private
investment projects, it is necessary to further explore
the integration of the international cost management
model into the existing cost management practice
of government funded projects so as to develop a
suitable cost control system.
Wang WeiqingDirector, North Asia
P
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 46
As an organisation we work across many geographies – each with their own challenges and their own opportunities. One area that unites us is the need to operate our infrastructure efficiently and smartly, with the least intrusion, while adding the maximum value to our end customers.
IT’S NOT ABOUT GROWTH, IT’S ABOUT EFFICIENCY
Andy StampsNational Head of Infrastructure, United Kingdom
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 46
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IT’S NOT ABOUT GROWTH, IT’S ABOUT EFFICIENCY
One thing that is apparent - whatever the area of
infrastructure we are working on, and unlike in
other areas of the built environment - is that the drivers
for investment are not about growing or expanding
a portfolio or increasing revenue through more
shops, office space or apartment blocks. It is about
constructing something to help an organisation operate
more effectively and efficiently, for the benefit of their
customers – all of us.
By 2030 it is estimated that around 60% of the
population will live in urban areas, with one in every three
people living in megacities . Urbanisation splits opinion
on whether it is a positive change, however, it is certainly
continuing for the foreseeable future.
One viewpoint is that urbanisation is undeniably a good
thing. There is robust evidence that cities outperform
rural areas and even government thinking in terms of
their efficiency in all aspects, such as their consumption
of resources, their services and their connectivity.
Many commentators quote cities such as New York,
London and Tokyo as leading the way in terms of their
infrastructures’ performances. The draw of young
people to cities is a sign of this progress with places
like Birmingham in the UK now boasting the largest
population of under 25 years old anywhere in Europe .
WORKING, PLAYING AND LIVING MORE EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY However, the real agenda in infrastructure is how we
work, play and live in these spaces in a more effective
and efficient manner. This is further enhanced by
examining where we can add value to our clients, and
to the communities which our clients serve. We all know
we only have a finite level of resources – be that water,
fossil-energy, food or land. How we consume and how
that consumption is invested is the key to our future. It
is cities and their infrastructure coupled with strategised
consumption which is integral to the solution.
Of course, “more effectively and efficiently” itself has
different meanings dependent on infrastructure sector,
geographical region and country. For example, a recent
and innovative project being delivered in the UK is the
Very Light Railway (VLR). The VLR is a joint initiative
led by WMG, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and
Coventry City Council which will result in a lighter, and
less impactful tram that can run across existing land
with less intrusion and street furniture. The VLR signals
an evolution for the UK transportation system. In less
developed countries where economic barriers might
be a restriction, the creation of the VLR with its lower
energy and capital costs, could mean the introduction
of a public transport system that connects people and
their cities in a way that previously was unaffordable and
unsustainable.
The innovation of such projects as the VLR - and the
Sydney, Newcastle Canberra and Gold Coast Light
Railway that RLB has been involved with in Australia
– also reflects the increased demand to consider the
commercial and socio-economic value of our projects
from investors, owners, operators and the communities
we serve. With less impact on the environment
during construction and operation and allowing many
communities improved connectivity, the value of such
projects speak for themselves. At RLB we are helping
clients assess all aspects of the value they are adding to
the communities they design, build and maintain.
PROCURING FOR VALUE, NOT COSTEnhancing the outcomes for clients and improving the
perception of our industry is key. Our industry, especially
in the UK, has been driven overwhelmingly by cost and
initial capital expenditure, in particular, for too long and
our supply chain has been hampered as a consequence
meaning that research and development is nominal
and very slow to deliver advances. We still procure
and construct with methods that are archaic. The pace
and extent of development in other industries in the
same timescale shows us how we should be capable
of transforming what we do, how we do it and the
outcomes we deliver.
In the UK the government is challenging industry to
reform itself. In the Construction Leadership Council’s
‘Procuring for Value’ report, authored by Ann Bentley,
RLB’s Global Board Director, we are encouraged to
procure on the basis of the value of the outcomes
delivered, rather than the capital cost of the inputs.
This promotes a much longer-term view, that rewards
innovative solutions such as VLR and recognises the
sustainability of supply chains as a key component for
project success. RLB’s depth of knowledge of both cost
and value makes us well-placed to help move our clients
to take this longer-term value-based approach.
CHANGING THE SHAPE OF THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE GLOBALLYInfrastructure, probably more so than any other area of
the built environment, reflects the changing shape of the
communities we serve globally. Innovation – whether it is
connecting people through rail and roads or virtually – or
by lessening the environmental impact of smart delivery
– can positively change the economy, the opportunity
and the landscape of the community it serves.
We need to create a legacy of raising aspirations,
enhancing skills and capabilities as well as securing jobs
for the future. What a privilege it is to be part of that
endeavour.
Andy StampsNational Head of Infrastructure, United Kingdom
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Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 48
P rocurement is a widely debated topic, both in
the New Zealand construction industry and
worldwide. A buoyant construction market for
the last seven years has seen heightened scrutiny
locally in Auckland, with problems encountered by
New Zealand heavyweight Fletcher Construction,
and the liquidation of Ebert Construction, Arrow
International and Stanley Construction.
As a result, the New Zealand Institute of Quantity
Surveyors (NZIQS) has called for the government
to address the issue of risk transfer in the
construction industry. The current government
has pushed forward with the Construction Accord,
which looks at making some key recommendations
around procurement models, risk transfer and
ensuring the long-term financial viability of
contractors.
However, this forms part of a wider issue and
shouldn’t be limited to government and their
sectors.
Over the last few years, we have seen many
clients (public and private) favour a two-stage
procurement route with Early Contractor
Involvement (ECI), especially on significant
projects (+$100M). This has typically been a direct
consequence of the heated market and the need
to secure the right contractor early from a limited
pool of experienced resources. These projects
have largely still been under a traditional contract
form with design risk remaining with the client,
although some key projects of late have been under
a two-stage design and construct contract . The
New Zealand Design and Construct (D&C) market
though is immature, so the single stage early D&C
tender is typically not an option, as it so often is in
the UK or in Australia.
These experiences are a reflection of a busy
construction market, but consideration is needed
to understand how the benefits and risks of ECI,
and the two-stage tender approach, translate in all
markets and within the economic cycle.
Clients, project managers and colleagues have
probably encountered vastly different experiences
of ECI. Some will be very positive, others not, with
different project outcomes, different criteria for
success, and having experienced varying impacts
on their role in the project. The approach to the ECI
process is not textbook, and the process can evolve
through lessons learnt and by understanding what
the critical success factors are.
This article looks at the key drivers for the ECI
route and the main deliverables expected, while
also summarising the critical success factors
and reasons why this style of procurement may
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 49
sometimes fail to live up to expectations. But
before it’s crunch time, some crucial questions
need to be asked. What are they key client and
contractor benefits? Can ECI be the long-term
preferred procurement approach through the full
economic cycle?
SO WHY ECI?Traditionally, projects with the following
characteristics have lent themselves to being
procured via an ECI route and typically have the
most to gain:
� Program driven projects where a traditional full
design and tender route will fail on the required
completion date. Requirements for fast tracking,
with critical lead times or where enabling
works, structure or envelope can progress while
the remaining design is being finalised and
able to be tendered later, off more complete
documentation
� Complex projects with staging requirements,
site restraints, ground conditions and/or
requiring significant temporary works
� Complex design solutions requiring main
contractor and sometimes, more importantly,
sub-contractor design and co-ordination
� Significant projects $100M+ requiring the client
to secure a large financially sound builder,
experienced team and appoint key sub-
contractors early during the design phase
KEY DELIVERABLES When engaging main contractors in the Stage 1 ECI
process, it is crucial for all parties to be aligned on
expected outcomes:
� Detailed construction program and identifying
key milestones and early critical path lead times
� Design review and buildability analysis including:
• Craneage options
• Traffic management plans
• Site setup and efficiencies
• Temporary works options
• Alternative methodology and staging options
� Key sub-contractor input including budget
information, design input and value
management input
� Potential overall budget review by the main
contractor
� Ensuring the ECI contractor’s project director or
key site manager is involved throughout the ECI
process.
Josh TattleyAssociate Director, New Zealand
EARLY CONTRACTOR
INVOLVEMENT IN A BUSY MARKET
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 50
WHAT DRIVES SUCCESSCommon factors driving a successful ECI process
can include:
� A genuine collaboration and partnering
approach from all parties - the client,
consultants and the contractor. Trust and
openness are crucial with everyone working for
the good of the project and its long-term value
rather than individual goals
� An agreed framework and deliverables including
a program of what is expected
� Clients should pay key senior people’s time and
knowledge
� Inclusion of key sub-contractors in the ECI
process for design opportunities, improved co-
ordination and budget input. Sub-contractors
should provide a schedule of rates or budget/
estimate at key design phases. Sub-contractor
ECI can also be tendered on a schedule of rates
or budget price to pick a preferred party, such
as tendering a Stage 1 Preliminary & General
(P&G) and Margin with a main contractor before
engaging them in ECI. Typical sub-contractors
may include piling, structural steel, façade, lifts
and mechanical
� Skin in the game at commencement of the ECI
phase. This may be a Stage 1 tender with fixed
P&G , a fixed margin and a program for the main
contractor, or a budget pricing from key sub-
contractors. It draws a line in the sand while
providing increased time and cost certainty to
the client
� Clear conditions of Stage 2 contract are agreed
at commencement of the ECI phase
� Long-term relationships though multiple
projects over time, with high levels of trust and
continuous improvement through lessons learnt
WHEN IT DOESN’T QUITE WORKJust as there are many factors for success, the
pitfalls that can offset the benefits of ECI can
include:
� Lack of ECI maturity and lack of trust from both
clients and contractors in terms of experience
and approach
� The ECI objective being predominantly about
‘securing a builder’ and security of program
rather than leveraging all the ECI benefits and
de-risking the project for the good of all parties
� Contractors with the wrong approach, looking
to ‘get their foot in the door’ and simply wanting
to secure a negotiated project for both cost and
program
� The nominated ECI team not being provided or
available, with less experienced resources and
subsequently not being able to provide the right
information
� Contract conditions significantly negotiated at
the end of the ECI phase rather than upfront in
the initial Stage 1 ECI appointment
Approach by the contractor’s commercial team
and management to the Stage 2 pricing and the
ECI hard work, benefits and gains can be quickly
undone by an inexperienced or immature approach
to pricing. ‘Open book’ sub-trade tendering
does nothing to solve the contractor’s approach
to pricing of the gaps, excluded tags and the
perceived risks.
CLIENT BENEFITS What are the benefits a client could receive from
the ECI process (over a competitive full tender
process) in a busy market, and will these benefits
sway clients to continue to pursue the ECI in a less
heated market?
� Long-term collaborative relationship with the
contractor with continuous improvement
� A more attractive project and procurement
route for the better contractors to participate in
� Ability to secure the right team and expertise
early without price being the key factor
� Fewer surprises. ECI should identify, mitigate
and appropriately allocate risks in a timely
fashion before they occur onsite, with time and
cost penalties avoided
� Higher cost certainty, with more closely aligned
entry vs exit cost. This is heavily dependent
on the procurement approach and when the
main contractor is signed up. The ECI route
can provide the client with a higher level of
cost certainty when the contract is executed.
Alternatively, if a contract is executed and
commitment made based on P&G and margin
only, then low-cost certainty is ascertained by
the client
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 51
CONTRACTOR BENEFITS Contractors also get the benefit of forging a long-
term collaborative relationship with the client,
leading to a more trusted position for future
projects. This also allows contractors to have
reasonably standardised agreed contract terms
with the client which have a fair risk allocation for
both parties.
Other benefits at a project level include:
� Design input, and knowledge ahead of pricing,
with the ability to secure key sub-contractors on
both price and non-price attributes early
� Full access to the consultant team for tag
clearance and sub-contractor procurement.
This allows sub-contractor packages to be more
resolved with tags or issues agreed upfront
rather than down track via the typical variation
process
� Collaborative risk management, willingness to
share risk and risk allocation to the party best
positioned to manage the risk
� Reduced overruns in time and cost
� Reduced risk of conflict
� Greater security of both program and profit
margin, with the real risks understood and
controlled
ECI THROUGH THE ECONOMIC CYCLE Long-term relationships built on trust and
openness, that produce genuine collaborative
environments will always be beneficial for
projects. Clients and contractors who forge
these relationships are more likely to value them,
regardless of the economic cycle. Clients should
understand that the entry price doesn’t reflect exit
price, and that the product received on completion
can be superior when there is influence over the
sub-contractors selected.
There will always be an argument for a competitive
tender situation and rightly so. Some projects are
more suited to a competitive tender, provided a
good relationship and fair contractual terms are
in place, should remain attractive to the main
contractor market.
A little onus must sit with main contractors and
sub-contractors to retain their policies on risk
allocation through all economic cycles, and to avoid
relaxing these in order to win work in a less heated
market.
In closing, there is no reason ECI shouldn’t be
successful, if not more successful, in a less heated
market. However, time will tell if we, as an industry,
have learnt from history or not.
Josh TattleyAssociate Director, New Zealand
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Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 52
STRATEGIC
Faced with constant pressure to reduce costs
and increase efficiency, organizations are
continually seeking ways to deliver their products
or services in ways that are quicker, cheaper,
and better. To support these goals, procurement
teams find themselves hyper-focused on crafting
processes that offer value, enhance competition,
and maximize the chances for success.
The advent of e-procurement programs (many with
attractive track records) has allowed companies
of all sizes to adopt standardized procurement
methods and tools. While this approach is well
suited to some applications—such as purchasing
office supplies or equipment where numerous
suppliers compete—its usefulness is limited
when it comes to more complex and specialized
procurements, such as those for professional
services.
A strategically planned procurement process can
maximize results for all parties. The elements of a
successful campaign are summarized below.
ENSURE INTERNAL COORDINATION � Map out objectives. Lay out the organization’s
goals in the RFP: discuss the aims of the
procurement with the team in advance, outline
in simple terms how the procurement relates to
the organization’s goals, and explain what role
the selected contractor / consultant will play in
advancing these objectives.
� Involve stakeholders. Ask key individuals who
will play a significant role in the implementation
phase—especially those who are not part
of your organization—to participate on the
interview panel. Engaging them early in the
process will pay off down the road; establishing
a relationship with people gives them an
investment in the outcome.
� Know the rules. Make sure someone on your
team has a strong understanding of the
legal statutes, codes, and other policies and
procedures that will govern your process.
Federal, state, and local guidelines apply here, as
well as your organization’s internal policies.
FACILITATE COMMUNICATIONS WITH PROPOSERSClear, timely, and complete communication with
all stakeholders—before, during, and even after the
process—sends a strong signal to all about your
professionalism and engagement in the project, and
ultimately attracts high quality submittals. Here are
some tips on being a proactive communicator:
� Outreach in advance. Before issuing the RFP,
get the word out that it’s coming. More interest
= more competition = better chance of success.
Local industry event organizers are always
looking for speakers with relevant, time-sensitive
content, and yours may be exactly what they
are seeking. Done right, these presentations
provide an opportunity to convey what you’re
looking for in an informal setting that’s much
more engaging and compelling than the paper
(or digital) RFP document.
� Accurately describe the project. Sure, it would
be great to find a team that has done exactly
what you are looking for, earlier this year, in your
market…but if your requirements for “similar”
experience are too restrictive, you will only limit
competition. Structure your RFP in a way that
defines your needs in general terms, and avoid
being overly specific.
� Allow adequate turnaround time. Proposers
need time to develop quality proposals.
Depending on the nature of the RFP, this can
range from a few weeks to several months.
� Encourage dialogue. Provide an opportunity
to ask questions about the RFP and invite all
parties to submit their questions. When you
respond, provide your answers in writing to
everyone; a website that’s updated on a regular
PROCUREMENTHow to refine your RFP process to position your team for exceptional outcomes
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 53
basis is an excellent forum for this kind of
communication.
� Be transparent. Lay out your process clearly in
the RFP, include a schedule (and stick to it!), and
don’t be afraid to over-communicate.
ASSEMBLE AN EXCEPTIONAL TEAMExecutives and managers can provide great added
value to their organizations by taking a hands-on
role: collaborating with their procurement teams,
working together to produce a thoughtful, strategic
approach that clearly communicates desired
outcomes, and aligning the RFP process with the
organization’s goals. Two positions are key to
ensuring a project’s success:
� Project champion. A robust senior leadership
presence can be transformative. An effective
project champion oversees the process,
collaborates with the internal team, and is visible
throughout the process. Proposers will see
and appreciate this involvement, recognize the
work is important to your organization, and be
motivated to invest more time and effort into
crafting a proposal that hits the mark.
� Procurement manager. RFP teams are usually
led by a Procurement Manager, whose judgment
and business savvy will be central to finding
the best and brightest talent. Invest in hiring
capable, qualified individuals who are positive
team players with experience running successful
procurements.
Successful procurement management isn’t only
about efficiency; it has a significant personal
component that no automated process can
replicate. Handling your project with intelligence,
perspective, and empathy will yield optimal
outcomes for all.
Scott SumnersSenior Vice President, North America
As seen in: American City & County, May 2019, “Strategic procurement
for local governments”
Scott SumnersSenior Vice President, North America
Ensure Internal Coordination
Facilitate Communications With Proposers
Assemble an Exceptional Team
P
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Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 55
BACKGROUND
G lobally, approximately $10 trillion (or 12% of the
world’s gross domestic products) is spent on
construction-related goods and services annually.
Yet, the industry has only seen a global labour-
productivity growth of an average 1% per annum
over the past two decades. This lags glaringly
behind other sectors such as manufacturing which
registered an average growth of 3.6% per annum.
Evidently, there is room for improvement and to
catch up with the progress made by other sectors
in the past twenty years which McKinsey Global
Institute estimates could translate to a value add of
$1.6 trillion a year for the industry.
Now, let us consider another statistic: we have
the worst track record in making timely progress
payments. In Singapore, data published by
Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau in 2019
showed that the construction sector recorded the
highest percentage of delayed bill payments for
the twelfth consecutive quarter. In comparison,
the second highest sector is approximately 9
percentage points lower.
In an environment where long term funding, usually
amounting to hundreds of millions if not billions, is
required for inherently risky projects, opaque and
un-digitised processes mean that data (i.e. credit
ratings, transaction histories and track records)
remain underdeveloped. Trust and confidence, both
badly needed, are not backed by a transparent and
verifiable process.
CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT 5D BIM PRACTICE 5D BIM for the most part is highly utilised at pre-
contract stage for cost planning, quantity take-off
and bills and reports generation. At RLB Singapore,
our quantity surveyors (QS) have been utilising
the information in the 3D models to enhance our
core competencies, allowing us to move away from
being traditional bill producers towards value-add
cost advisors.
Post-contract stage, there are many attempts to
introduce 5D BIM data into project scheduling (4D
BIM) in order to visualise the project cost estimate
against the construction progress. However, this
cash flow forecast is not usually updated when
actual costs are incurred simply because there is
no simplified way to do so other than to manually
update the cost elements. As a result, progress
claims are handled separate from the 5D BIM flow,
creating a BIM-to-field gap.
On a smaller and more experimental scale, 5D BIM
are being utilised during post-contract stage for
progress payments and valuations. As QS, our main
concern lies in the security of payments once work
is completed. In a typical construction project,
numerous contractors enter into contracts with
either the upstream contractor or project owner
for their services. Generally, these contracts set
out the processes and criteria required before a
contractor can seek to claim for payment. Despite
the ostensibly clear terms, payment disputes often
arise during the life of the contract.
THE VALUE OF 5D BIM for Entire Supply Chain
Silas LohJoint Managing Partner, Singapore
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Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 56
The failure to provide timely payments have a
detrimental impact on the overall project costs
and timelines; business insolvencies have been on
the rise in recent years, especially so for small-
to-medium enterprises (SME) as they continue
to suffer from tight cash flow and deteriorating
margins. When disruptions in project financing
occur, it can result in a domino effect throughout
the entire contracting chain – from lenders, to
developers, contractors, suppliers and even design
consultants.
Two key pain points that have dogged the industry
are identified as follows:
1. Lack of verifiable and accountable cost and time
data for quantification, valuation, planning and
progress claims throughout the value chain of
the building. The key reason why construction
project disputes can become intractable is
an absence of adequate documentation and
audit trails to allow for the quantification of
indisputable payment claims. This happens
because of the existence of many stakeholders
providing different services over a prolonged
period. To exacerbate matters, the different
stakeholders are working and collecting data
in different formats, which leads to an acute
lack of accurate and verifiable data source to
help with reliable payments. While there has
been significant development in adopting
BIM technologies for project time and cost
management, most of these design models do
not contain the relevant information needed by
QS and contractors since there is no specific
common data repository and standard for
this. This leads to a fragmented approach
for downstream cost planning, control, work
validation and progress claims.
2. Security of Payments. The consequences of
payment disputes are significant given the
value of construction projects. The lack of
data also has a cascading impact on payment
issues in the contracting chain which led some
jurisdictions to introduce security of payment
legislation to ensure contracting parties can
maintain the cash flow between them. However,
this is not a statutory standard that is held
around the world. For example, in countries such
as the United Kingdom, it is very much down
to the terms of the construction contract which
normally favours the developer. In developing
countries, contractors must rely on their
relationship with and their trust of the developer
to determine if payments will be honoured.
Moreover, while the enactment of such
legislation has attenuated the problem, its
operationalisation is not without problems. The
accretive nature of some disputes, which may
require a final arbitration or court litigation to
resolve continue to negatively impact project
delivery and outcomes. Up against intransigent
parties, meritorious parties may still need to
expend unnecessary time and cost to enforce
an adjudication determination, arbitral award or
judgment for payments in their favour.
ADDRESSING COST MANAGEMENT PAIN POINTS THROUGH THE USE OF 5D BIM
Lack of verifiable and accountable cost and
time data for quantification, valuation, planning
and progress claims throughout the value chain
of the building
To date, cost and schedule related software for
QS and contractors are proficient in so far as they
perform one to two specialised functions well but
are typically not integrated with upstream nor
downstream activities e.g. cost planning, work
validation and progress claims. In this, the data
generated at each phase is segmented from the
rest and exists in a silo.
The advantages of incorporating cost
management of a built asset to the model while
well documented, has not successfully translated
into practice due to the lack of technological
breakthroughs and barriers to adoption. With
an end-to-end solution that integrates 5D BIM
with downstream cost processes, the envisioned
outcome for the entire supply chain are:
1. Improved accuracy of quantification and
valuation. With the development of a
standardised set of cost data and through the
use of a designated 3D model as the primary
source of truth, data can be shared across
the entire cost management workflow in an
integrated manner.
2. Better planning and cost control. A cost
calculation model will be integrated within a
common 5D BIM environment with the QS’s
cost plans and/or Bills of Quantities. Cost
model mapping will allow for a dynamic cost
data linkage between the model and cost plan
whereby the latter will reflect the actual changes
in the former.
3. Linkage of work validation to progress claims.
Progress claims process, which is highly
fragmented currently, will be incorporated into
the 5D model such that the QS can locate the
specific elements within the model, edit its
properties for site progress update purposes
and generate progress claims reports from a
single source.
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 57
Security of Payments
Along with the development of a standardised set
of cost data and other frameworks, BIM technology
applied together with blockchain technology can
circumvent payment disputes and potential risks
of formal dispute resolution such as adjudication
under Singapore’s Security of Payment (SOP) Act
through the integration of fragmented information.
With the linkage of work validation to progress
claims, all relevant project parties (i.e. architects,
engineers, resident site staff, QS and contractors)
can submit, verify, endorse and certify the work
done on site for timely payment. This monthly
progress claim and certification is encrypted, and
every occurrence recorded as a block in a chain of
blocks. This means that the information cannot be
altered by any parties once the event is past yet
can be shared across multiple parties without the
risk of a data breach.
This system inspires trust and confidence between
the developers and contractors as the BIM model
serves as the source of truth for the overall
project and payment statuses are locked from
manipulation.
A WIN-WIN SOLUTION FOR ALLThe QS will be the first and foremost beneficiary
of this technology, from cost plans to valuation of
progress claims and variations tracking based on a
singular 3D model as the primary source of truth. A
seamless integration of 5D BIM through the whole
life of construction would translate to reduced
fragmentation and manual or double, even triple,
work when all the processes were not integrated.
We can now move forward to also provide a
combination or variation of expanded roles and
services (e.g. development or investment appraisal,
whole life cycle costing, dispute resolution/
arbitration services, etc.).
What about the rest of the supply chain then? We
suggest that the progress claims functionality will
be a game changer in the construction industry. For
the first time, the BIM-to-field gap will be bridged
– in a 3D model that can be visually understood
by professionals and layman alike and in a manner
that is transparent, digitalised and accessible by all
parties while being tamper-proof.
Lending entities such as banks, as laypersons, can
understand on a visual level the percentage of
physical work done and by way of cost attributes
tagged to each element, find the corresponding
value of work done. This allows the lenders an
option to counter check the value of work done
in relation to the QS’s payment certification.
Developers themselves have an inherent interest
in the progress of the project – whether it is on
time and within budget. With 5D BIM, they can
keep real-time updates of the value of works
done, in comparison to their cash flow projections.
Furthermore, any changes to the model (i.e.
variation works) will result in a corresponding
update in costs, leading to informed and faster
decision making on the developer’s part.
When design consultants, be it architects or
engineers, are appointed as contract administrators,
5D BIM with progress claims functionality can
make their payment certification process more
efficient as work done is clearly reflected on the
3D model. In the event that disputes arose from
variation works, design consultants can simply refer
to the 3D model as the primary source of truth
for a swift and low-cost resolution. Differences
between work done and payment certification
would narrow between all contracting parties,
leading to a decrease in late payments and thus
lower percentages of defaults and/or insolvencies,
especially for the SME contractors and suppliers.
CONCLUSIONIn today’s construction environment where
opportunities for collaboration are potentially
ample, uneasy working relationships often turn
sour or even adversarial. Win-win situations are
unexplored and lose-lose outcomes often prevail
when trust is lacking. Productivity as an industry
is not improving as it should and 5D BIM is a very
large and unaddressed market without established,
integrated technology solutions. Through the use
of technology, we can make a direct impact on
productivity through the integration of entire cost
management process and 5D BIM.
McKinsey Global Institute. (2017). Reinventing Construction: A Route to Higher Productivity. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.mck-
insey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Capital%20Projects%20and%20Infrastructure/Our%20Insights/Reinventing%20construction%20through%20a%20productivi-
ty%20revolution/MGI-Reinventing-Construction-Executive-summary.ashx
Silas LohJoint Managing Partner, Singapore
P
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 58
THE DIGITAL FUTURE
How digital is transforming the construction industry
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
Matt SharpChief Digital Officer, United Kingdom
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Even as far back as 2014, the construction industry
was proposing a technology-enabled future
with the UK’s Construction Industry Council issuing
a seminal report, ‘Built Environment 2050: A Report
on Our Digital Future’. It stated, “the industry is
undergoing one of the largest change programmes in
its history, as it evolves from its traditional analogue-
based tools and processes to a new and more
connected digital state.”1
Six years on, we cannot undervalue how far
construction has progressed, with industry-wide
recognition of the need to modernise, to employ
digital experts, to adopt new technologies and to
collaborate through data sharing.
As much as the prospect of a digital future can daunt
many, at RLB we have found that having a digital
strategy isn’t a radical departure from the way we
have always worked. Our ethos, strengths and values
remain the same, but our methodology employs more
digitally efficient processes to provide our clients with
the best solutions to deliver the best outcomes.
As our service offering has evolved digitally, both
globally and within the UK, so has our digital culture
progressed with our own in-house development
teams; data and analytics capability; our own digital
suite of solutions such as Ross5D, RLB Field, Focus
and Pulse; and most recently our achievement of the
much sought-after British Standards Institution (BSI)
Building Information Modelling (BIM) certification.
DIGITALLY EXPECTANT CLIENTSWith on-going improvements in the use of
technology and services outside of work, our
clients are increasingly tech savvy, tech comfortable
and expectant. Many of our clients have common
requirements for the new services they procure but
fundamentally these requirements remain to be what
differentiates RLB in our market.
While clients have always expected an ease in doing
business, an efficiency in completion of engagements
and a trust in the quality and accuracy of our
deliverables, the goalposts of their expectations are
being shifted by digital technologies.
Digitally enabled business today needs to be easier,
faster and more accurate – beyond transactional,
digitally-performed calculation and process - and our
experts need to offer additional value by tailoring the
experience, the service and the outcomes for every
client’s unique situation.
What RLB clients expect of our services:
DIGITAL, DATA & TECHNOLOGY‘Digital’ is a catch-all buzzword and we often hear talk
of the ‘digital transformation’ we experience, research
and strive to drive. RLB recognises three key areas
that we need to understand, influence and exploit:
digital, data and technology.
DIGITALAcross our business we are leveraging advancing digital capabilities to improve or reinvent our processes and ways of working, allowing us to automate tasks through employing technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Automation and Orchestration. Our expert knowledge in the form of our industry-leading logic, formulae and calculations honed from the experience of decades of building projects in multiple industries across the globe, allows us to develop the best solutions for our services.
One example of how we have seen this digital transformation within the services we offer is through our RLB Field application. Field enables our teams and clients to use mobile devices to capture data - whether this be answers to questions, empirical measurements or photos - that is then securely stored in the Cloud, analysed and presented back to the client in bespoke, easy-to-understand digital dashboards and reports. McDonald’s is currently using RLB Field for data capture on their Restaurant Refurbishment Programme. RLB is producing the robust quantitative results and qualitative insights that we always have for our clients, just in a digitally enabled and far more efficient way.
Easy to Consume Efficient AccurateOn-the-move, anywhere
Instantaneous and real-time
Correct (all the time)
Any device Minimal effort and manual intervention
Trustworthy
Any time, all the time
Guided (when required)
Proven
Simple operation, click of a button
Interfaced via standard interfaces
Factual
Self-service Interoperability Based on extensive data
Transparent costs
Iterative Agreed by and aligned to all other parts of the project
Graphical interfaces
High Volume
Secure Common Data Structures
1 Construction Industry Council, 2014
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Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 60
DATAEvery built environment project generates huge quantities of data. From initial concept through build to handover,
every stage of the construction lifecycle is a flow of critical information.
RLB has an extensive, rich data set from our years of
delivering construction projects across the globe. Our
ability to federate all RLB data to a single place and
to analyse and interrogate this data is tremendously
powerful. We can offer market-leading, accurate insight
by being able to compare projects against our data and
we are able to find patterns and trends.
Our RLB Pulse benchmarking solution now gives
RLB colleagues and our clients the ability to globally
benchmark project costs and has the International
Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) and
its associated International Property Measurement
Standards (IPMS) embedded in its framework.
RLB Focus gives us the capability to present easily
consumable, graphical dashboards to our colleagues
and our clients, like Tesco, who use RLB Focus for estate
condition survey reporting, so that they can dynamically
visualise and interrogate their data from any device,
anywhere.
TECHNOLOGYBeyond digital and data there are many technology
advances influencing our industry, the built environment,
and the way in which our traditional disciplines are
performed. Many of the projects we collaborate on
with our clients are at the forefront of employing new
technologies including drones, laser point scanning and
augmented reality.
OUR DIGITAL CULTURE
Successfully evolving digitally is not about a radical
changing of the guard, it is about augmenting our
existing expertise by drawing in individuals with
fresh perspectives that understand and can facilitate
technological progress.
We must attract talent with digital qualifications, skills
and knowledge that can complement our traditional
core disciplines of quantity surveying, cost management,
project management and programme management,
building surveying and specialist consultancy services.
We must encourage collaboration between digital
innovators and technical experts across disciplines
to bring inventive ideas and to reverse mentor our
colleagues - ensuring we are continuously aware of the
‘art of the possible’ and delivering the best possible
service.
Of course, the competition for digital talent is high
with many sectors including entertainment, retail and
finance presenting attractive career propositions and the
potential for significant reward for technology-qualified
individuals. To advance digitally as we must, our industry
must compete and ensure it is digitally attractive by
demonstrating our:
� digital ambition
� willingness to evolve working practices and adopt
new technologies
� nurturing environment for technologists
� desire to invest, and
� digital successes.
RLB’s digital culture needs to be one of inquisitiveness
and exploration in which our existing colleagues
eagerly learn about, adopt and optimally exploit new
digital capabilities, and work collaboratively with those
digital natives recruited into businesses across the built
environment.
It is our collaborative approach - across our industry and
our organisation - that will allow RLB to leverage our
discipline expertise and harness emerging technologies
to add value and deliver outcomes that provide the
greatest benefit to our clients and their projects.
Matt SharpChief Digital Officer, United Kingdom
P
Confidence today inspires tomorrow
RLB.com
The Adelaide Casino expansion delivers a luxury hotel and world-class entertainment precinct expanding the
existing casino with high end retail outlets, new general gaming, VIP gaming and VIP gaming salons, conference
facilities, signature bars, restaurants, and a wellness retreat. A three storey glass atrium connects Adelaide’s historic
Neo-Classical Railway Station to the new, opulent glazed golden façade tower overlooking the riverfront and Festival
Theatre.
RLB’s extensive involvement on this project includes full scope quantity surveying services, from inception to project
close-out. The completion of this complex multi-staged project is on budget and on time and due to be opened in
August 2020.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 62
A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO SELF-PERFORMING WORKContractors that “self-
perform” have the ability to
do specific trade work without
contracting with other companies
(subcontractors). Their direct
employees complete a portion of
the construction, such as concrete
work, steel framing, carpentry, or
another specialty.
Many variables must be considered
by general contractors when
deciding whether to self-perform
(SP) or subcontract work
packages, among them risk,
fees, supervision, schedule, and
availability of labor. The reasons
for self-performing vary, with
some focusing on scopes of work
requiring higher quality, greater
complexity, or more aggressive
schedules, and others on work that
subcontractors are not interested
in undertaking—for whatever
reason.
In the current economic climate,
with its attendant construction
labor shortage, many trade
subcontractors, unsure of their
ability to properly staff a project,
are averse to providing cost
estimates and bids. Additionally,
estimators and other management
staff at trade contractors are also
busy, which forces them to be
more selective in deciding where
they spend time providing cost
estimates to general contractors
(especially at earlier design stages
where the subcontractor may not
yet be confident that the project
is “real”) and in managing the
actual construction work. Owners
facing the pressure of schedule
constraints on projects sometimes
accept this lack of input on the
part of subcontractors with little
question, moving on with the
bidding process. This provides
general contractors with an
opportunity to slide into the
driver’s seat when it comes to
pricing, with the goal of garnering
a contract for SP work.
Any lack of input from qualified
subcontractors creates a critical
void in the process. It puts
added emphasis on the general
contractor and throws into relief
which of them can, or can not,
supply SP services. Those that
aren’t SP-qualified are frequently
weeded out of the candidate
pool, while those contractors who
remain in contention are often
asked to provide detailed pricing
to the owner. It’s worth noting
JOSH MARKSResident Manager, North America
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that owners working without
cost consultants are often at a
disadvantage when it comes to
understanding these detailed
estimates for such specialized
work.
When the feasibility of SP work
is real, and since enacting it can
yield benefits, a project team
should plan for it very early on.
For this to be effective, both
the general contractor and the
owner must be transparent in
their communication. It is often
observed that general contractors
bring up the idea of SP work too
close to the time of establishing
the Guaranteed Maximum
Price (GMP) with the owner. A
collaborative approach between
a general contractor with market
knowledge and an educated owner
will likely reveal an optimal solution
well before any binding decisions
need to be made.
WORKING TOGETHERFor complex projects, input
from trade experts is valuable
in early stages of design. While
there is value to the project in
selecting a trade contractor for
this preconstruction input, it
might also introduce an element
of convenience to the general
contractor. The significance of
that convenience—selecting a
subcontractor in the early design
stages that will also likely perform
the construction—becomes clear
when it is their own internal SP
department that provides the
input. While this may streamline
the flow of information, it also
stifles pricing competition. Even
if the opportunity is eventually
opened up to other bidders within
that trade to establish the GMP,
those bidders, thinking that the
scope of work has already been
won by the “incumbent”, might not
provide competitive numbers, or
they might not have a complete
knowledge of the intricacies of the
scope which have been developed
during the preconstruction phase.
Regardless of which entity
provides the preconstruction
input for a given trade, if a bidding
situation for a trade exists that
involves both subcontractors and
SP, the fairest way to administer
that situation is to have both
parties submit their bids directly
to the owner for review. Prior
to soliciting the bids, there
should be a detailed, descriptive
scope of work for each trade.
This will minimize the need for
clarifications and assumptions
in the pricing, and will ensure
that comparing quotes between
the subcontractors and the SP
provider is as “apples to apples” as
possible.
COMMUNICATION, COSTS, AND COMPETITIONThe success of a SP project
relies to a great extent on an
established relationship between
people who have a proven track
record of collaboration and who
operate in an environment that
fosters efficient communication.
However, these qualities aren’t
always present in the marketplace.
Sometimes, and more often
in today’s busy environment,
SP forces are willing to travel
longer distances, from locations
where resources may be more
available, to fulfill manpower
requirements. Not only is the
synergy of familiarity lacking in
these situations, but costs to the
owner are more likely to be higher
due to additional management
staffing costs. Quite often, the SP
divisions of general contractors
act like actual subcontractors
to the general contractor, with a
completely separate management
staff. Sometimes subcontracts
are written within the company
that contain a second layer of
overhead and profit. Taking a more
integrated approach to SP may
lead to both lower costs to the
owner, as well as better production
by the SP contractor.
In this labor-strapped environment,
some general contractors have
recently proposed composite
crews, where a “prime”
subcontractor’s workforce is
supplemented by that of the SP
general contractor, or vice versa.
The sooner the owner and general
contractor exchange expectations
on staffing strategies, schedules,
and budgets, the sooner a process
for buying out the project can be
formulated.
Choosing between SP and
subcontracted work becomes
even more difficult when the SP
contractor’s price comes in slightly
higher than the subcontractor’s
price. This isn’t an abnormal
situation, since many SP firms
have more experienced labor as
part of their staff and may have
better access to training programs.
Especially in a setting where public
monies are used to fund projects,
it is very difficult to justify this
additional cost to an owner. The SP
firms may be able to demonstrate
a superior record of quality and
safety, or commit to a more
aggressive schedule, but because
of the focus on cost by many
owners, a metric may need to be
developed to justify the increased
costs.
Hindsight, as we all know, is
20/20. Only once the project
gets underway will it be possible
to truly determine whether the
right decision was made; if the
SP contractor comes through
on schedule maintenance,
construction quality, and change
order experience, it just might
outweigh the difficulty of justifying
the discrepancy between the initial
price and the extra cost to the
owner.
Josh MarksResident Manager, North America
P
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Hong Kong is a small but densely populated
city which is famous for its dynamic property
development. Housing shortage has been the
biggest challenge confronting the Government for
decades, which has led to the continual need for
the construction industry to increase its housing
stock through higher efficiency as well as a better
built environment.
PUBLIC SECTORBeing the major housing developer in Hong Kong,
the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) has
been a pioneer to apply prefabrication in providing
economical and fast track public housing. The
precise definition of the term “prefabrication”,
though commonly used worldwide in construction,
may vary from country to country depending
on user’s experience. In this article, the term
“prefabrication” is referred to building components
that are made off-site in manufactured yards or
factories. Since 1990s, the HKHA has widely
adopted standardized prefabricated elements,
including external façades with window frames,
staircases, watertanks, wall panels, semi-precast
concrete floor slabs and volumetric precast
bathrooms, to achieve as short as 6-day structural
typical floor construction cycle.
KEY FACTORS FOR ADOPTING PREFABRICATION IN HONG KONG
Tiffany ChanDirector, North Asia
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PRIVATE SECTOR AND GOVERNMENT’S INITIATIVES
While prefabrication has been widely adopted in
public housing, the private sector has taken a more
conservative approach. When compared with
the traditional in-situ construction, prefabrication
construction has been considered as less cost-
effective by the private sector at large. The lack of
private sector experience has not demonstrated
effectively the advantages of prefabrication. To
encourage a wider adoption of prefabrication, the
Government has played an important role. Since
2011, the area of non-structural prefabricated
external wall has been exempted from calculation
of Gross Floor Area (GFA), since then increasing
popularity in adoption of prefabrication, one form
or the other, is seen in private residential projects.
NATURE AND REPETITIVENESS OF PROJECTSOwing to the comparatively high initial and
transportation cost of prefabrication, cost
effectiveness can only be achieved in prefabrication
of components of large quantities and repetitive in
nature. Hence, it is widely adopted in residential,
hostels, hotels or similar projects. The HKHA
has developed a full set of standard design and
specification for the prefabricated elements in
public housing construction. The standardized
design of prefabricated elements applied to public
housing projects can secure competitive pricing
and ensure a constant supply.
WEATHER FACTORSite construction progress is vulnerable to adverse
weather conditions, especially during typhoons and
wet season in May to October. The risks of adverse
weather are either borne by the contractors who
often have to squeeze the construction programme
or by the employers who are obliged to grant
extension of time for completion of the works.
Neither case could effectively reduce the effect of
adverse weather condition to construction activities
on site. By transferring part of the construction
activities, for example, in-situ concrete works, which
are vulnerable to weather condition from the site
to indoor manufactured yards, the time for on-site
activities can be shortened and any adverse effects
on progress of work due to adverse weather can be
reduced.
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LABOUR FACTORAging problem of the construction labour force in
Hong Kong is another factor that encourages off-
site construction wherever possible. The median
age of skilled labour rose from 48 years to 51 years
from 2010 to 2017. About 23% of the total skilled
labour in construction industry are over the age
of 60. The shortage of skilled labour is becoming
increasingly more alarming as the construction
industry is facing a significant amount of
construction works in the coming years, including
the next 10-Year Hospital Development Plan
amounting HK$270 billion, Railway Development
Strategy 2014 amounting HK$110 billion, 5-year
public housing target production of 100,700 units
from 2019 to 2024 and HK$ 620 billion Lantau
Tomorrow Vision in creating new metropolis, etc.
In order to ensure delivery of all these mega size
projects on time, the Government and the private
sector are eager to explore alternative construction
solutions including prefabrication with application
of innovative technologies to improve construction
efficiencies.
QUALITY FACTORCompared with in-situ construction on site,
building components manufactured under
controlled condition off-site can better secure
compliance with the required standard. The whole
manufacturing process can be controlled, while
testing and checking of prefabricated components
in compliance with quality surveillance system
can be performed at factories before delivery to
sites. However, assembling and jointing of different
prefabricated components on site would require
close dimensional co-ordination of components
and does not relieve the necessary testing and
quality checking process on site. Also, regular visits
by architects or engineers to off-site factories for
better co-ordination and quality assurance are
required.
FROM PRE-FABRICATION TO MODULAR INTEGRATED CONSTRUCTION (MiC)While prefabrication of components has gained
popularity in Hong Kong in recent years, the
application of Modular Integrated Construction
(“MiC”) is still at infancy phase, with some pilot
projects under planning or construction stage.
MiC refers to the complete off-site factory pre-
construction of volumetric modules of buildings
with all finishes, building services and even
furniture.1 It can be illustrated as the maximum
application of pre-fabrication off-site and minimum
construction work on site.
In order to achieve cost effectiveness, MiC is limited
by far to transitional housing, residential, quarters,
etc., which are generally repetitive in nature.
However, repetitiveness and standardization
also means lack of uniqueness and design
characteristics. It remains as a challenge and
an opportunity for designers to strike a balance
between cost effectiveness and uniqueness and
design characteristics to building design, with a
wider application of advanced technologies and
Building Information Modelling (“BIM”).
Adoption of MiC or prefabrication can improve
time certainty and reduce construction time on site.
However, it requires detailed design to be available
and frozen at the early stage with complete co-
ordination of built-in building services. Close
integration and linkage of design information to
the manufacturers off-site are required. Since the
financial and time impact on projects due to late
changes in MiC or prefabrication elements could
be much worse than that of in-situ construction,
wider application of BIM technologies to streamline
design and work flow would be expected.
For successful application of MiC, early involvement
of contractors by contributing knowledge and
expertise regarding methodology of jointing and
assembling MiC modules on site, transportation and
delivery may be required.
Transportation of prefabricated MiC modules from
remote off-site factories to sites is a challenge to
contractors. The location of Hong Kong lying at
the gateway of Guangdong allows comparatively
cheap water transportation of prefabricated
MiC modules from factories located in mainland
China. However, limitation in land traffic network
within Hong Kong and the risk of damage to
pre-installed fittings within the modules during
transportation will drive the industry to look for the
best balance of the type and extent of elements to
be prefabricated in MiC modules and those being
finished and fitted after delivery on-site.
In conclusion, while prefabrication and MiC in
Hong Kong construction industry is expected to
gain increasing popularity, the optimal degree and
extent of application will vary for different nature
and size of projects. Advanced technologies
and BIM will also play more important role for the
successful application of prefabrication and MiC.
Tiffany ChanDirector, North Asia
P
1 Construction 2.0, by the Government of Hong Kong SAR, 2018
A better tomorrow through flawless execution today
RLB.com
Te Oro is a music and arts facility in Auckland. The name ‘Te Oro’ taken from is the traditional Māori name for the sound
created by wind blowing across the open crater of nearby volcano Maungarei. The project emerged from a prolonged
period of open and collective engagement, with the community involved to embed local identities throughout. The
1485m2 project has a strong environmental focus, with the upper roof surface covered in 250 PV panels, which reduce
electrical consumption by 50%, rain water harvesting, above-code insulation, double glazing, reverse cycle heat pumps,
and LED lighting.
RLB Auckland provided full estimating, cost planning and cost management services from conception through
to completion.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 68 Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 68
Rider Levett Bucknall | Perspective Magazine 2020 69
Change does not come easy to the AEC industries, but that doesn’t mean we
shouldn’t challenge our thinking about the best ways to do business. The
needs of the present (and the future) are unlike any we have previously faced.
But it’s not so much that we should be doing different things when designing
and building buildings, but that we should be doing the important things better.
Innovation without insight is wasted effort. The popular term “disruption” is a
dramatic misnomer that I suspect serves more as marketing bait for venture
capitalists; what’s actually happening is the antithesis of disruption. In the AEC
world, technology is not interrupting the workflow, it is making it seamless.
Underlying all the technological advances we’re seeing in software, hardware,
and equipment, these changes boil down to making connections: between
the designers and the engineers and the jobsite supervisors and labor and the
owners. It’s enhanced communication that can make project planning, project
management, and project execution less susceptible to interruption.
GOD IS (IN) THE DATATo be clear, that communication is not verbal in nature; it is digital. And the main
participants in the conversation are the tech titans. Information collected from
our homes, workplaces, and public spaces via a host of devices is converted into
algorithms focused on efficiencies, a driving concern of the AEC world.
In the residential sector, Amazon has a deal with Lenar, one of the country’s largest
homebuilders, to equip its new housing stock with an array of Alexa-controlled
products, including built-in WiFi, smart locks and doorbells, thermostats, and
lights. To analyze uses and patterns in the office, WeWork has instituted extensive
monitoring programs. An example of the granularity of its studies: To ascertain the
occupancy rate of meeting rooms, battery-powered thermal sensors were placed
under conference room tables to measure how many pairs of legs were present
and for how long. Crunching the resultant numbers, the company concluded that
conference rooms should be smaller in size since they’re rarely full.
Going outside, we’re about to get a ground-up look at how this kind of approach
plays out at scale. Sidewalk Labs, owned by the parent company of Google,
Alphabet, is a consortium of urban designers and technologists who are dedicated
to exploring how new technologies can solve big urban challenges and improve
the quality of life in cities. In 2017, it became a partner in a major development in
Julian AndersonPresident, North AmericaGlobal Board Director
CHANGE, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE AEC INDUSTRIES
CONVENTION MEETS INVENTION:
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Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 70
Toronto, called Quayside, which seeks to revitalize
800 acres of underutilized waterfront land with a slew
of fresh thinking about affordable housing, resiliency
and flood protection, retail, and transportation
systems.
In Toronto, Sidewalk Labs is planning to contribute
innovations that are overtly oriented to the built
environment, such as canopies that automatically
retract in advance of severe weather. But as the
architect of the data infrastructure, the applications—
and the implications—of Quayside’s digital domain
will be significant beyond the immediate community.
As with all R & D, it will take time to evaluate its
success.
SPREADING THE DIGITAL WORDA fundamental factor in transmitting this information
is the telecommunications system. The advent of
the 5G wireless network (rolling out in 30 US cities
by the end of 2019) will open up new bandwidth
spectrum for IoT use and small-cell deployment in
urban areas, both which are central to construction
applications. The faster rate of data transfer—upon
its release, 5G downloads are initially estimated to be
about 20 times as fast as the current 4G capability,
and will accelerate to more than 100 times as fast—
will support the reception and streaming of videos
captured by drones, as well as enhance virtual-,
augmented-, or mixed-reality tools.
BASED IN REALITIESThose reality visualization programs are significantly
growing in usage. World-wide spending on
augmented reality and virtual reality is expected
to reach nearly $20.4 billion this year, according to
market intelligence firm International Data Corp.
That’s up from an estimated $12.1 billion in 2018.
On the construction site, the rise of reality capture
technology has opened the door to true, real-time
analysis of projects. Drones, rovers, laser scanners,
and 360-degree cameras can more effectively track
progress and productivity, as well as identify risks for
potential delays. Drone-based visual inspections not
only provide up-close, accurate images, but can easily
produce pictures from vantage points that were
previously inaccessible to human photographers,
such as inside wall cavities or over bridges. All this
can help streamline the design process (and timeline)
by eliminating unnecessary design iterations.
Trimble recently introduced a viewing device that
clips to standard hardhats and enables workers
to access holographic information directly from
the jobsite. Featuring a wider field-of-view than
earlier generations of the hardware and a flip-up
viewscreen, the XR10 with Microsoft HoloLens 2
combines state-of-the-art mixed reality and safe
operation in restricted access work areas. Unlike
immersive headsets, whose opaque displays conceal
the physical environment and replace it with a fully
digital experience, this transparent display allows
users to see the physical world while digital content is
superimposed into the view in real-time.
FROM THE GROUND UPThere’s been lots of discussion about the viability of
3D printing as a construction method. Historically,
the construction industry is slow to change and risk-
averse, for obvious reasons. Until a process is tried
and true, developers will not embrace it. The large
printers that are required for additive manufacturing—
for onsite concrete pours, for example—rely
significantly on the reliability of the print head. If a
problem develops there, the entire process can grind
to a halt. The enormous size of these printers makes
them expensive and difficult to transport, as well.
The future of modular construction, where building
components are manufactured in a factory-controlled
environment instead of on a construction site, looks
more promising. Big Data is ever deeper involved
in this facet of the industry. Through its Alexa Fund,
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Julian AndersonPresident. North America
Global Board Director
As seen in:Design Intelligence, Q2 2019, “Convention Meets Invention:
Change, Technology, and the AEC Industries”
P
Amazon has invested millions in Plant Prefab, a Rialto,
California-based company that builds prefabricated,
custom single-family and multifamily residences using
sustainable materials and processes. For its modular
homes, Plant Prefab has developed a proprietary
technology which the company claims can reduce
time by 50 percent, while also achieving a savings
in overall costs of between 10 and 25 percent,
depending on the geographic market.
FUTURE PERFECT?Disruption has its place; without it, there could be
no progress, and we’d be stuck in an endless status
quo. By the same token, continuity is critical; we
can’t go back to square one every time an innovative
step is taken. It’s worth bearing in mind that the AEC
fields are composed of both creative forces and
conservative thinkers, and their needs are sometimes
divergent. By applying these new technologies to
the design and construction process, we are reducing
risk, cost and time and enhancing the process which
then empowers the parties to it and adds value
across the board.
Perspective Magazine 2020 | Rider Levett Bucknall 74
RLB.com
Bringing imagination to life
With a network that covers the globe and a heritage spanning over two centuries, Rider Levett Bucknall is a leading independent
organization in cost management and quantity surveying, project management and advisory services.
Our achievements are renowned: from the early days of pioneering quantity surveying, to landmark projects such as the Sydney
Opera House, HSBC Headquarters Building in Hong Kong, the 2012 London Olympic Games and CityCenter in Las Vegas. We
continue this successful legacy with our dedication to the value, quality and sustainability of the built environment. Our innovative
thinking, global reach, and flawless execution push the boundaries, taking ambitious projects from an idea to reality.
RLB.com